The response a material has to the process of being heated or cooled is either expansion or contraction. The degree of expansion or contraction any particular material will undergo in these circumstances is known as the Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE). The standardized temperature at which a material is at its baseline state is 20 degrees Celsius, or 68 degrees Fahrenheit. The CTE of a material helps to define how much expansion or contraction will occur at a temperature that differs from this standard. Back to entire glossary
