Optical Silicon vs. Silica Aerogel
Optical silicon belongs to the non-glass optical ceramics classification, while silica aerogel belongs to the oxide-based engineering ceramics. There are 12 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (11, in this case) are not shown. Please note that the two materials have significantly dissimilar densities. This means that additional care is required when interpreting the data, because some material properties are based on units of mass, while others are based on units of area or volume.
For each property being compared, the top bar is optical silicon and the bottom bar is silica aerogel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 150 | |
0.0050 |
Poisson's Ratio | 0.28 | |
0.2 |
Shear Modulus, GPa | 80 | |
0.0030 |
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 110 | |
0.016 |
Thermal Properties
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 150 | |
0.016 |
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 3.0 | |
2.0 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Density, g/cm3 | 2.3 | |
0.1 |
Common Calculations
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 35 | |
0.028 |
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 75 | |
57 |
Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
0.044 |
Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 22 | |
1.4 |
Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 18 | |
110 |