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Material Properties for Strings, Plates and Membranes

Overview

This page provides a table of approximate density, Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio for some common natural and synthetic materials (solids, liquids, fibers) at room temperature, at sea level. Note that these values may vary depending on various factors such as temperature, atmospheric pressure, alloy composition, etc...

Value ranges are given for some materials in cases where their physical composition may vary either due to variance in the natural formation of compounds or (as in the case of alloys and synthetic materials) due to their base ingredients being mixed in different proportions. Woods (which have their own page) and natural fibers, especially, can have physical properties which vary greatly depending on the environmental conditions in their area of origin.

For definitions of density, Young's modulus and the poisson coefficient see the object properties page.

Tables of Material Properties

Metals

Material Properties of Metals
Material Density kg/m^3 Young N/m^2 poisson
Aluminium 2700 7.0e10 0.35
Bismuth 9780 3.2e10 0.38
Brass 8500 1.0e11 - 1.25e11 0.33
Bronze 7400 - 8900 9.6e10 - 1.2e11 0.34
Cesium 1930 1.7e9 0.3
Copper 8940 1.1e11 - 1.28e11 0.35
Gold 19300 7.9e10 0.43
Iridium 22560 5.2e11 0.26
Iron 7870 1.9e11 - 2.11e11 0.30
Lead 11340 1.6e10 0.43
Lithium 534 4.9e9 0.36
Magnesium 1740 4.3e10 0.29
Mercury 13600 2.85e10 (0.5)*
Nickel 8900 2.1e11 0.30
Osmium 22570 5.5e11 0.25
Platinum 21450 1.68e11 0.39
Silver 10500 8.3e10 0.37
Steel 7700 2.0e11 0.31
Tin 7310 4.7e10 0.35
Titanium 4540 1.2e11 0.34
Tungsten 19250 4.11e11 0.28
Zinc 7100 1.08e11 0.25

*incompressible materials such as liquids are considered to have a poisson ratio of 0.5

Minerals and Stone

Material Properties of Minerals and Stone
Material Density kg/m^3 Young N/m^2 poisson
Arsenic 5700 8.0e9 -*
Diamond 3500 1.22e12 0.2
Granite 2700 1.0e10 - 7.0e10 0.1 - 0.3
Graphite 1400 - 2250 1.7e11 - 3.4e11 0.13
Limestone 2700 1.5e10 - 5.5e10 0.18 - 0.33
Marble 2560 - 2760 5.0e10 - 7.0e10 0.1 - 0.22
Quartz 2650 7.6e10 - 9.7e10 0.17
Sandstone 2000 1.0e9 - 2.0e10 0.21 - 0.38
Sapphire 3980 3.45e11 0.25 - 0.28
Shale 2500 1.0e9 - 7.0e10 0.2 - 0.4
Silicon 2330 1.3e11 - 1.88e11 0.36
Uranium 19100 2.08e11 0.23

*arsenic has a highly variable poisson ratio depending on the direction of stress

Fibers

Material Properties of Natural and Synthetic Fibers
Material Density kg/m^3 Young N/m^2 poisson
Carbon Fiber 1400 8.9e11 - 1.3e12 0.25
Catgut 1300 5.5e9 - 6.5e9 -*
Flax Fiber 1450 5.0e10 - 7.0e10 0.4
Hemp Fiber 1480 3.0e10 - 8.0e10 0.4
Horse Hair 1200 - 1400 4.9e9 - 7.0e9 -*
Nylon 1150 - 1200 4.5e9 - 5.5e9 0.4
Silkworm Silk 1300 - 1380 5.0e9 - 6.0e9 0.4
Spider Silk 1300 2.0e9 - 5.0e9 0.4

*natural fibers without a measured poisson coefficient can be considered to have a value of 0.4 for this parameter

Other Materials

Material Properties of Other Natural and Synthetic Materials
Material Density kg/m^3 Young N/m^2 poisson
Bone 1900 9.0e9 - 1.8e10 0.15
Carrot 1140 1.36e6 0.15 - 0.35
Concrete 1680 - 3000 3.0e10 - 5.0e10 0.1 - 0.2
Cork 200 - 250 2.0e7 0*
Glass (Borosilicate) 2300 6.2e10 - 8.1e10 0.2
Glass (Soda-Lime) 2500 7.2e10 - 7.4e10 0.23
Ice 920 1.2e10 0.33
Marshmallow 370 2.9e4 -**
Olive Oil 920 1.35e9 (0.5)***
Rubber (hard) 1100 - 1200 1.0e7 - 2.3e9 0.48 - 0.5
Rubber (soft) 950 3.0e6 - 5.0e6 0.48 - 0.5
Seawater 1020 2.34e9 (0.5)***
Tooth Enamel 2900 8.3e10 0.28
Water 1000 2.15e9 (0.5)***

(*) Cork can often have a negative poisson value
(**) Data for marshmallow is not partial - we suggest a value near zero, similar to cork.
(***) Incompressible materials such as liquids are considered to have a poisson ratio of 0.5.