Physics > Young's Modulus
Essentially, Young's Modulus (E) is a measure of the stiffness of a material. Young's modulus, E, can be calculated by dividing the tensile stress by the tensile strain:
E = Tensile Stress / Tensile Strain
The table below shows the approximate Young's Moduli of some common materials.
| Material |
Young's modulus (E) in GPa |
Young's modulus (E) in lbf/in² (psi) |
| Rubber (small strain) |
0.01 - 0.1 |
1,500 - 15,000 |
| PTFE (Teflon) |
0.5 |
75000 |
| Low density polyethylene |
0.2 |
30,000 |
| HDPE |
1.379 |
200000 |
| Polypropylene |
1.5 - 2 |
217,000 - 290,000 |
| Bacteriophage capsids |
1 - 3 |
150,000 - 435,000 |
| Polyethylene terephthalate |
2 - 2.5 |
290,000 - 360,000 |
| Polystyrene |
3 - 3.5 |
435,000 - 505,000 |
| Nylon |
3 - 7 |
290,000 - 580,000 |
| Oak wood (along grain) |
11 |
1,600,000 |
| Pine wood (along grain) |
8.963 |
1,300,000 |
| MDF (wood composite) |
3.654 |
530,000 |
| High - strength concrete (under compression) |
30 |
4,350,000 |
| Magnesiummetal (Mg) |
45 |
6,500,000 |
| Aluminium alloy |
69 |
10,000,000 |
| Glass |
65 - 90 |
9,400,000 - 13,000,000 |
| Brass and bronze |
103 - 124 |
17,000,000 |
| Titanium (Ti) |
105 - 120 |
15,000,000 - 17,500,000 |
| Copper (Cu) |
110 - 130 |
16,000,000 - 19,000,000 |
| Carbon fiber reinforced plastic (50/50 fibre/matrix, unidirectional, along grain) |
125 - 150 |
18,000,000 - 22,000,000 |
| Wrought iron and steel |
190 - 210 |
30,000,000 |
| Beryllium (Be) |
287 |
41,500,000 |
| Tungsten (W) |
400 - 410 |
58,000,000 - 59,500,000 |
| Silicon carbide (SiC) |
450 |
65,000,000 |
| Osmium (Os) |
550 |
|
| Tungsten carbide (WC) |
450 - 650 |
65,000,000 - 94,000,000 |
| Single carbon nanotube |
1,000+ |
145,000,000+ |
| Diamond (C) |
1,050 - 1,200 |
150,000,000 - 175,000,000 |
Young's modulus is named after Thomas Young, an 18th Century British scientist.