Optical Silicon vs. Grade A Lava
Optical silicon belongs to the non-glass optical ceramics classification, while grade A lava belongs to the oxide-based engineering ceramics. There are 12 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (14, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is optical silicon and the bottom bar is grade A lava.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Compressive (Crushing) Strength, MPa | 120 | |
| 76 to 170 |
| Flexural Strength, MPa | 300 | |
| 28 to 69 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 110 | |
| 6.9 to 21 |
Thermal Properties
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 1350 | |
| 650 to 1130 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 700 | |
| 840 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 150 | |
| 2.0 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 3.0 | |
| 2.5 to 3.3 |
Electrical Properties
| Dielectric Constant (Relative Permittivity) At 1 MHz | 12 | |
| 5.3 to 5.8 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Density, g/cm3 | 2.3 | |
| 2.3 to 2.5 |
Common Calculations
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 0.77 to 2.5 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 22 | |
| 3.2 to 7.3 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 93 | |
| 1.0 |