Materials / Compare

Brick vs. Silicon

Compare Brick vs. Silicon strength, stiffness, weight and thermal properties.

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BrickNatural
SiliconGrown single crystal
Try it on a partA panel to run stress or thermal on, free in your browserOpen in LessCADOpen in LessCAD
Mechanical
Yield strengthnot given (tensile used)not given (tensile used)
Ultimate tensile strength5.1MPasourcemodulus of rupture (no direct tensile value)130MPasourcemodulus of rupture (bending fracture stress); brittle, no yield point
Compressive strength77.9MPasourcemean unit compressive strength, solid extruded brick (survey mean; SD 30.8 MPa)not sourced
Flexural strengthnot sourced130MPasourcemodulus of rupture
Elongation at breaknot sourcednot sourced
Young's modulus (stiffness)not sourced131GPasourcetypical (single quoted value of an anisotropic crystal)
Density2,082kg/m³sourceface brick density row used for k (BIA notes most fired clay brick 120-130 lb/ft3)2,329kg/m³sourcetypical
Strength to weight2.45kN·m/kg55.8kN·m/kg22.8x higher
Stiffness to weightnot sourced56.2MN·m/kg
Poisson's rationot sourced0.221sourcetypical
Shear modulusnot sourced53.6GPa
Bulk modulusnot sourced78.3GPa
Speed of soundnot sourced7,500m/s
Thermal
Thermal conductivity0.92–1.12W/m·Ksourcerange for 130 lb/ft3 face brick (ASHRAE 2013 via BIA)163W/m·Ksourcetypical at 313 K (40 °C)
Thermal expansion7.2µm/m·KsourceTMS Code average coefficient, clay/shale unit masonry2.62µm/m·Ksourcetypical at 300 K
100 mm part over a 50 °C swing36µm growth13.1µm growth2.75x less
Specific heat837J/kg·Ksourcevalue used in BIA heat-capacity sample calculation732J/kg·Ksourcetypical
Heats up and cools (diffusivity)0.585mm²/s95.6mm²/s163x faster
Thermal shock resistancenot sourced48,095W/m
Melting pointnot sourced1,412°Csourcetypical
Max service temperaturenot sourced300°Csourceproducer's maximum application temperature (optical components)
Values forSolid extruded clay/shale brick units (BIA 1993 manufacturer survey, TN 3A 2024); face brick of 130 lb/ft3 for thermal properties (BIA TN 4, from ASHRAE 2013); CTE is the TMS Code value for clay/shale masonrySynthetic single-crystal silicon (cubic, diamond structure), Korth Kristalle (crystal grower) material data; Korth usually supplies Floating Zone (FZ) material, Czochralski (Cz) also offered. Silicon is elastically anisotropic; the producer quotes one modulus and the solver is isotropic.

Every value links to the document that states it. "Not sourced" means no citable source states it (or only a specification minimum); figures computed from it are left out too.

Questions

Is Brick stronger than Silicon?

Silicon is stronger: its tensile strength is 130 MPa against 5.1 MPa for Brick (25.5x).

Which is lighter, Brick or Silicon?

Brick is lighter: 2,082 kg/m³ against 2,329 kg/m³ for Silicon.

Which is lighter for the same job, Brick or Silicon?

For the same stiffness or strength: Silicon is lighter for a strong rod or tie, strong beam, strong panel or plate.

Part that must beBrickSilicon
Strong rod or tie22.8x heavierlighter
Strong beam7.74x heavierlighter
Strong panel or plate4.51x heavierlighter

For the same stiffness or strength, mass scales with density over stiffness (or strength) raised to a power set by how the part is loaded: 1 for a rod in tension, 1/2 for a beam in bending, 1/3 for a panel (the standard material-selection indices).

Which conducts heat better, Brick or Silicon?

Silicon conducts heat better: 163 W/m·K against 1.02 W/m·K for Brick.

Which expands less with temperature?

Silicon expands less: 2.62 µm/m·K against 7.2 µm/m·K for Brick.

Among 72 materials

1k10k0.1110100Density (kg/m³)Young's modulus (GPa)Plastic PLAPlastic PETGPlastic ABSPlastic TPUPlastic NylonAluminumSteelIronTitaniumSteel AISI 1018Stainless Steel 304Stainless Steel 316Aluminum 6061-T6Aluminum 7075-T6Brass C360Copper C110GlassSteel AISI 1045Steel AISI 4340Steel A992Stainless Steel 303Stainless Steel 17-4PHAluminum 2024-T351Aluminum 5052-H32Aluminum 7050-T7451Titanium Ti-6Al-4VBrass C260Nickel Inconel 718Magnesium AZ31B-H24Zinc Zamak 3Plastic ABS (bulk/injection)Plastic PolycarbonatePlastic POM/AcetalPlastic Nylon PA6Plastic Nylon PA66Plastic PEEKPlastic UHMWPEPlastic HDPEPlastic PolypropylenePlastic PMMAFDM ASAFDM PolycarbonateFDM PAHT-CFFDM HIPSSLA Resin Tough 2000SLS PA12 NylonDMLS AlSi10Mg AluminumDMLS Ti-6Al-4V ELI TitaniumDMLS 316L Stainless SteelDMLS 17-4PH Stainless SteelPCB Laminate FR-4Ceramic Alumina 96%Ceramic Aluminum NitrideAluminum A380Aluminum 6063-T6Aluminum 1100-OAluminum ADC12Magnesium AZ91DSolder SAC305Plastic PBT GF30Plastic PPS GF40Plastic LCP GF30Silicon
Stiffness against density
1k10k101001kDensity (kg/m³)Yield strength (MPa)Plastic PLAPlastic PETGPlastic ABSPlastic TPUPlastic NylonRubberAluminumSteelIronTitaniumSteel AISI 1018Stainless Steel 304Stainless Steel 316Aluminum 6061-T6Aluminum 7075-T6Brass C360Copper C110GlassSteel AISI 1045Steel AISI 4340Steel A992Stainless Steel 303Stainless Steel 17-4PHAluminum 2024-T351Aluminum 5052-H32Aluminum 7050-T7451Titanium Ti-6Al-4VBrass C260Nickel Inconel 718Magnesium AZ31B-H24Zinc Zamak 3Plastic ABS (bulk/injection)Plastic PolycarbonatePlastic POM/AcetalPlastic Nylon PA6Plastic Nylon PA66Plastic PEEKPlastic PTFEPlastic UHMWPEPlastic HDPEPlastic PolypropylenePlastic PMMAFDM ASAFDM PolycarbonateFDM PAHT-CFFDM HIPSSLA Resin Tough 2000SLA Resin Elastic 50ASLS PA12 NylonDMLS AlSi10Mg AluminumDMLS Ti-6Al-4V ELI TitaniumDMLS 316L Stainless SteelDMLS 17-4PH Stainless SteelPCB Laminate FR-4Ceramic Alumina 96%Aluminum A380Aluminum 6063-T6Aluminum 1100-OAluminum ADC12Magnesium AZ91DSolder SAC305Plastic PBT GF30Plastic PPS GF40Plastic LCP GF30BrickSilicon
Strength against density

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