Totally cool new product/material! AEROGEL!

[Wrecked944]

I first heard about this stuff a year or so ago but paid only moderate attention because there appeared to be no place to buy it. But now, a website has started to offer samples and I am pretty psyched.

http://www.unitednuclear.com/aerogel.htm

I'm not entirely sure yet what one can do with small samples. But if one could get the stuff iin sheets, then you could insulate a home with it and drop your heating bills to almost nothing (no, this is not related to the free generator thread )

Anway, the stuff is called Aerogel and here is a blurb from the website...



What is Aerogel?

Aerogel is made from Silicon Dioxide, the same material as ordinary Glass, only 1,000 times less dense. Aerogel (also called 'frozen smoke' because of its hazy blue appearance), is a truly remarkable material. It is the lightest and lowest-density solid known to exist, and holds an unbelievable 15 entries in the Guinness Book of World Records, including best insulator and lowest density solid. Aerogel is composed of 99.8% air and is chemically similar to ordinary glass. Being the world's lightest known solid, it weighs only three times that of air. When handled, Aerogel feels like a very light, hard foam. Being chemically similar to glass, it also happens to shatter like glass, yet is incredibly strong structurally, and can support thousands of times its own weight. Theoretically, a block weighing less than a pound could support a weight of half a ton. Due to its microstructure, Aerogel is a powerful desiccant, rapidly absorbing any moisture in your fingertips when held. This usually leaves some dry spots on the skin that disappear in a short time. Aerogel's true strength is its incredible insulating properties. It negates just about any kind of energy transfer - thermal, electrical or acoustic. A one-inch thick Aerogel window has the same insulation value as 15 panes of glass and trapped air - which means a conventional window would have to be ten-inches thick to equal a one-inch thick Aerogel window. Aerogel's density is just 3 milligrams per cubic centimeter. Its melting point is 2,200 degrees F (1,200 degrees C). A large panel of Aerogel was most recently used by NASA in the Stardust mission, which successfully collected collect comet & interstellar dust samples & returned them to Earth. Previously, it was used in the Mars Pathfinder Rover to insulate its components from the large temperature swings on Mars.



CAPTION: A blowtorch under a thin slice of Aerogel has no effect on the crayons on top.

[Joeaksa]

Interesting product as well as a very interesting company.

Anyone who sells tesla coil plans, radioactive materials and 8 inch star rocket kits are a young kids dream...

[IROC]

This stuff's been around for quite awhile. I remember reading about it about 10 or 12 years ago. We used to joke about designing all of our shuttle hardware out it since it would save so much weight...

Mike

[cowtown]

I also remember reading about this stuff a few years ago. Very cool. I wonder what its sound insulation properties are.

[FrayAdjacent911]

Definitely very cool. I'd like to see it become common... that and Buckminsterfullerene.

[kach22i]

I saw this last year too, weird stuff.

[ubiquity0]

You could build a GERERATOR with that!

[Moses]

I'm making mid-year AEROGEL body panels. My SC will weigh about 1200 pounds when I'm done. Group buy?

[bigchillcar]

I'm making mid-year AEROGEL body panels. My SC will weigh about 1200 pounds when I'm done. Group buy?

are you...? almost had me..!
ryan

[cashflyer]

Originally posted by Moses
I'm making mid-year AEROGEL body panels. My SC will weigh about 1200 pounds when I'm done. Group buy?

Hail, or collision, would shatter your car!!

[kach22i]

http://www.martinloganowners.com/~tdacquis/forum/showthread.php?t=1646

Kruppy said:

Aerogel has been around for quite a while. I've been doing a bit of research on it for my work. It was used on the NASA Stardust program.

http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/tech/aerogel.html

You'll find that beyond its aerospace applications it's used for heat shielding for engine compartments, shoe inserts for insulating the foot from the sole of the shoe (artic conditions), and also insulation in jackets.

The stuff aint cheap.......

If anyone is interested this is a bit of history on the Samuel Kistler the inventor of Aerogel in the 30's

http://eetd.lbl.gov/ECS/aerogels/kistler/index.htm

[bigchillcar]

i'd like to know what shoe and coat manufacturers are using this product now..sounds like a great application. frostbite sucks..
ryan

[Wrecked944]

Thanks kach22i! I realize I was thinking too big when I wanted to insulate my whole house. Using it for shoes and jackets now seems obvious. I bet it would also make for a super efficient fridge - or incredibly effective thermos and igloo cooler insulation. Or ear muffs. Or a seat warmer for the Saturday football game. Sleeping bags...

[kach22i]

Also known as Pyrogel .

http://www.aerogel.com/

Our Pyrogel® and Spaceloft™ materials were born in the mid to late 1990’s when development was initiated for NASA. In the cold dark vacuum of space, maintenance of body temperature is critical, yet spacesuits must be flexible and light to allow for freedom of movement. NASA found our aerogels to be a perfect fit, and so will you.

Unlike all other insulations for footwear and apparel applications that rely on decades old textile, foam or fiber technology, the insulating power of our materials is derived from space age aerogel technology.