Borosilicate Glass vs. Silicone Plastic
Borosilicate glass and silicone plastic belong to fundamentally different material chemistries. Borosilicate glass is a ceramic material, while silicone plastic is polymeric. Therefore, their performance will be even more dissimilar than would be suggested by the difference in properties. There are 14 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (16, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is borosilicate glass and the bottom bar is silicone plastic.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 67 to 80 | |
| 9.0 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 280 | |
| 38 |
Thermal Properties
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 830 | |
| 850 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 1.2 | |
| 0.35 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 3.3 to 5.1 | |
| 35 |
Electrical Properties
| Dielectric Strength (Breakdown Potential), kV/mm | 5.0 to 34 | |
| 30 |
| Electrical Resistivity Order of Magnitude, 10x Ω-m | 9.0 to 12 | |
| 12 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Density, g/cm3 | 2.2 to 2.6 | |
| 1.9 |
Common Calculations
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 15 to 17 | |
| 2.6 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 55 to 61 | |
| 36 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 30 to 35 | |
| 5.5 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 36 to 43 | |
| 13 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 0.54 to 0.63 | |
| 0.22 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 50 to 91 | |
| 8.5 |