Negative Thermal Expansion - Applications

Applications

There are many potential applications for materials with controlled thermal expansion properties, as thermal expansion causes many problems in engineering, and indeed in everyday life. One simple example of a thermal expansion problem is the tendency of dental fillings to expand by an amount different from the teeth, for example when drinking a hot drink, causing toothache. If dental fillings were made of a composite material containing a mixture of materials with positive and negative thermal expansion then the overall expansion could be precisely tailored to that of tooth enamel.

Glass-ceramic is used for cooktops.