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Density of Materials

This table summarizes densities of the most common materials you may encounter in your life. Explore the world of materials, compare materials with each other and also try to explore other properties as well.
Material-Table-Density
Water

——

997 kg/m3

Air

——

1.23 kg/m3

Ice

——

920 kg/m3

Glass

——

2500 kg/m3

Boron carbide

——

2520 kg/m3

Graphite

——

2260 kg/m3

Carbon fiber

——

2000 kg/m3

Polyethylene

——

950 kg/m3

Polypropylene

——

900 kg/m3

Carbon dioxide

——

2 kg/m3

Brick

——

1700 kg/m3

Porcelain

——

2400 kg/m3

Tungsten carbide

——

14500 kg/m3

Diamond

——

3500 kg/m3

Graphene

——

2270 kg/m3

PET

——

1350 kg/m3

Polycarbonate

——

1200 kg/m3

Carbon monoxide

——

1.14 kg/m3

Sand

——

1500 kg/m3

Limestone

——

2750 kg/m3

Elektron 21

——

1800 kg/m3

Duralumin

——

2780 kg/m3

Zirconium-tin alloy

——

6560 kg/m3

Austenitic stainless steel

——

7850 kg/m3

Mild steel

——

7850 kg/m3

Gray iron

——

7150 kg/m3

TZM alloy

——

10220 kg/m3

Inconel

——

8200 kg/m3

ETP

——

8890 kg/m3

Cupronickel

——

8940 kg/m3

Zamak 3

——

6600 kg/m3

Ruby

——

3980 kg/m3

Uranium dioxide

——

10970 kg/m3

Polystyrene

——

1050 kg/m3

Polyvinyl chloride

——

1330 kg/m3

Nitrous oxide

——

2 kg/m3

Concrete

——

2400 kg/m3

Granite

——

2750 kg/m3

Pure titanium

——

4510 kg/m3

6061 alloy

——

2700 kg/m3

Zirconium-niobium alloy

——

6560 kg/m3

Martensitic stainless steel

——

7650 kg/m3

High-carbon steel

——

7850 kg/m3

White iron

——

7770 kg/m3

Mo-25 Re alloy

——

11200 kg/m3

Hastelloy

——

8890 kg/m3

Brass

——

8530 kg/m3

Aluminium bronze

——

7640 kg/m3

Soft tin solder

——

8600 kg/m3

Salt

——

2200 kg/m3

Kevlar

——

1440 kg/m3

Polyamide-Nylon

——

1140 kg/m3

Rubber

——

1100 kg/m3

Methan

——

0.657 kg/m3

Stone wool

——

20 kg/m3

Quartz

——

2650 kg/m3

Ti-6Al-4V

——

4500 kg/m3

7068 alloy

——

2850 kg/m3

Chromoly steel

——

7850 kg/m3

Duplex stainless steel

——

7800 kg/m3

Tool steel

——

7810 kg/m3

Ductile iron

——

7300 kg/m3

Tungsten-rhenium alloy

——

19700 kg/m3

Stellite

——

8690 kg/m3

Bronze

——

8770 kg/m3

Beryllium copper

——

8250 kg/m3

Amalgam

——

14000 kg/m3

Sugar

——

1600 kg/m3

Wax

——

960 kg/m3

Coal

——

1400 kg/m3

Asphalt concrete

——

2360 kg/m3

Propane

——

2 kg/m3

Glass wool

——

20 kg/m3

Aerogel

——

10 kg/m3

Rose gold

——

12900 kg/m3

Yellow gold

——

15500 kg/m3

White gold

——

15900 kg/m3

PH stainless steel

——

7750 kg/m3

High-speed steel

——

8160 kg/m3

Malleable iron

——

7150 kg/m3

Pure tungsten

——

19250 kg/m3

Invar

——

8100 kg/m3

Constantan

——

8860 kg/m3

Nickel silver

——

8690 kg/m3

Galistan

——

6440 kg/m3

Oak wood

——

704 kg/m3

Pine wood

——

500 kg/m3

Gasoline

——

755 kg/m3

Diesel fuel

——

850 kg/m3

Acetylene

——

1.1 kg/m3

Density of Materials

Density - Gas - Liquid - Solid

Typical densities of various substances are at atmospheric pressure.

Density is defined as the mass per unit volume. It is an intensive property, which is mathematically defined as mass divided by volume:

ρ = m/V

In words, the density (ρ) of a substance is the total mass (m) of that substance divided by the total volume (V) occupied by that substance. The standard SI unit is kilograms per cubic meter (kg/m3). The Standard English unit is pounds mass per cubic foot (lbm/ft3).

Density – Atomic Mass and Atomic Number Density

Since the density (ρ) of a substance is the total mass (m) of that substance divided by the total volume (V) occupied by that substance, it is obvious, the density of a substance strongly depends on its atomic mass and also on the atomic number density (N; atoms/cm3),

  • Atomic Weight. The atomic mass is carried by the atomic nucleus, which occupies only about 10-12 of the total volume of the atom or less, but it contains all the positive charge and at least 99.95% of the total mass of the atom. Therefore it is determined by the mass number (number of protons and neutrons).
  • Atomic Number Density. The atomic number density (N; atoms/cm3), which is associated with atomic radii, is the number of atoms of a given type per unit volume (V; cm3) of the material. The atomic number density (N; atoms/cm3) of a pure material having atomic or molecular weight (M; grams/mol) and the material density (⍴; gram/cm3) is easily computed from the following equation using Avogadro’s number (NA = 6.022×1023 atoms or molecules per mole):Atomic-Number-Density

Since nucleons (protons and neutrons) make up most of the mass of ordinary atoms, the density of normal matter tends to be limited by how closely we can pack these nucleons and depends on the internal atomic structure of a substance. The densest material found on earth is the metal osmium, but its density pales by comparison to the densities of exotic astronomical objects such as white dwarf stars and neutron stars.

If we include man made elements, the densest so far is Hassium. Hassium is a chemical element with symbol Hs and atomic number 108. It is a synthetic element (first synthesised at Hasse in Germany) and radioactive. The most stable known isotope, 269Hs, has a half-life of approximately 9.7 seconds. It has an estimated density of 40.7 x 103 kg/m3. The density of Hassium results from its high atomic weight and from the significant decrease in ionic radii of the elements in the lanthanide series, known as lanthanide and actinide contraction.

Density – Pressure and Temperature

The density of a material varies with temperature and pressure. This variation is typically small for solids and liquids but much greater for gases. Most materials expand when their temperatures increase. Rising temperatures make the liquid expand in a liquid-in-tube thermometer and bend bimetallic strips. As a result of this expansion, the density of most materials decreases. This effect is caused by a decrease in the atomic number density. This dependence is usually expressed by the coefficient of linear or volume expansion.

Increasing the pressure on an material (especially for liquids or gases) decreases the volume of the object and thus increases its density via the atomic number density. Compressibility (also known as the coefficient of compressibility is a measure of the relative volume change of a fluid or solid as a response to a pressure (or mean stress) change.

See also: What is Density

See also: Densest Materials of the Earth

Density of chemical elements