Why is it that some solids contract more than others at a given temperature?

david2020-06-23T09:50:20Z

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Because they have different crystalline structures .. some are body-centered cubic and some are face-centered cubic .. and some others that I've forgotten in the last 60 years or so.  The expansion is the 'pushing' of the atoms apart as temp changes .. these diff. structures cause diff. amounts of overall expansion.