Alpha Quartz vs. Calcium Fluoride
Both alpha quartz and calcium fluoride are non-glass optical ceramics.
For each property being compared, the top bar is alpha quartz and the bottom bar is calcium fluoride.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 91 | |
| 80 |
| Knoop Hardness | 740 | |
| 160 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.13 | |
| 0.26 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 31 | |
| 34 |
Thermal Properties
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1590 | |
| 1420 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 720 | |
| 860 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 8.5 | |
| 9.7 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 9.5 | |
| 19 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Density, g/cm3 | 2.7 | |
| 3.2 |
| Light Transmission Range, µm | 0.13 to 3.4 | |
| 0.15 to 9.0 |
| Refractive Index | 1.6 | |
| 1.4 |
Common Calculations
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 19 | |
| 14 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 57 | |
| 45 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 4.4 | |
| 3.5 |