text: A number of materials contract on heating within certain temperature ranges; this is usually called negative thermal expansion, rather than "thermal contraction". For example, the coefficient of thermal expansion of water drops to zero as it is cooled to 3.983 °C and then becomes negative below this temperature; this means that water has a maximum density at this temperature, and this leads to bodies of water maintaining this temperature at their lower depths during extended periods of sub-zero weather.
  Other materials are also known to exhibit negative thermal expansion. Fairly pure silicon has a negative coefficient of thermal expansion for temperatures between about 18 and 120 kelvin. ALLVAR Alloy 30, a titanium alloy, exhibits anisotropic negative thermal expansion across a wide range of temperatures.