We added a post on aerogel earlier this month. Here is another article on the incredible substance - Scientists hail ‘frozen smoke’ as material that will change world:
It is expected to rank alongside wonder products from previous generations such as Bakelite in the 1930s, carbon fibre in the 1980s and silicone in the 1990s. Mercouri Kanatzidis, a chemistry professor at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, said: “It is an amazing material. It has the lowest density of any product known to man, yet at the same time it can do so much. I can see aerogel being used for everything from filtering polluted water to insulating against extreme temperatures and even for jewellery.”
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It also has green credentials. Aerogel is described by scientists as the “ultimate sponge”, with millions of tiny pores on its surface making it ideal for absorbing pollutants in water. Kanatzidis has created a new version of aerogel designed to mop up lead and mercury from water. Other versions are designed to absorb oil spills.
August 19th, 2007 at 5:32 pm
Even if aerogel turns out to be half as great a gadget as it is advertised, it’s still going to make a mark in the history books. Thanks for sharing these cool finds.