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Silica Aerogel vs. Optical Silicon

Silica aerogel belongs to the oxide-based engineering ceramics classification, while optical silicon belongs to the non-glass optical 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 silica aerogel and the bottom bar is optical silicon.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 0.0050
150
Poisson's Ratio 0.2
0.28
Shear Modulus, GPa 0.0030
80
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 0.016
110

Thermal Properties

Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 0.016
150
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 2.0
3.0

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Density, g/cm3 0.1
2.3

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 0.028
35
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 57
75
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 0.044
13
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 1.4
22
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 110
18