Coefficient of thermal expansion
material property which describes how the size of an object changes with a change in temperature / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Solids mostly[1] expand in response to heating and contract on cooling.[2] This response to temperature change is expressed as its coefficient of thermal expansion.
The coefficient of thermal expansion is used:
- in linear thermal expansion
- in area thermal expansion
- in volumetric thermal expansion
These characteristics are closely related. The volumetric thermal expansion coefficient can be measured for all substances of condensed matter (liquids and solid state). The linear thermal expansion can only be measured in the solid state and is common in engineering applications.