Physical Properties

Physical Properties in materials.

What are Physical Properties?

Describes how materials behaves under certain conditions.

What are all of the material Physical Properties?

• Density

• Thermal conductivity

• Electrical conductivity

• Transparency / Opacity

What is meant by density?

How heavy a material is for its size.

What is meant by Melting/boiling point?

The temperature through which the material changes state.

What is meant by thermal conductivity?

How well a material conducts heat.

What is meant by Electrical conductivity?

Whether the material conducts electricity.

What is meant by Transparency?

How light passes through the material.

What is meant by Density?

How much mass is packed into a certain amount of space.

When does thermal conductivity become important?

• Objects that will be heated.

• Objects that must be insulated from heat gain.

It what cases does transparency matter?

For products where the designer wants the user to be able to see through it.

Why is it important for designers to take into account the density of a material?

• Some products need the material to be lightweight → Bikes.

• Some products need to durable and dense → machinery.

What is meant by tensile strength?

A materials resistance to being pulled apart.

What is meant by Compressive Strength?

A materials resistance to being compressed or crushed.

What is shear strength?

A materials ability to resist sliding forces.