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Ionomer vs. Balsa

Ionomer belongs to the thermoplastics classification, while balsa belongs to the wood-based materials. There are 8 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (13, 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 ionomer and the bottom bar is balsa.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Material Properties

Density, g/cm3 0.94
0.13
Dielectric Strength (Breakdown Potential), kV/mm 39
4.9
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 0.4
3.0
Elongation at Break, % 350
1.2
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 0.24
13
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 11
30
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 26
99
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 37
14