Materials Girl

Areogel is incredible stuff, the lightness is really boggling. It’s like holding solid air,  there’s pressure against the skin but no weight. (Perhaps this is what having a phantom limb feels like?) I’m not convinced about the strength properties outlined below, having had samples break in my hand before. Perhaps it’s “new and improved”, or they are testing against a larger mass than I had. 

ramblingredryan:

Also known as frozen smoke, Aerogel is the world’s lowest density solid, clocking in at 96% air. It’s basically just a gel made from silicon, except all the liquid has been taken out and replaced with gas instead. If you hold a small piece in your hand, it’s practically impossible to either see or feel, but if you poke it, it’s like styrofoam.

Aerogel isn’t just neat, it’s useful. It supports up to 4,000 times its own weight and can apparently withstand a direct blast from two pounds of dynamite. It’s also the best insulator in existence, which is why we don’t have Aerogel jackets: it works so well that people were complaining about overheating on Mt. Everest.