Scientists hail â€˜frozen smokeâ€™ as material that will cha

HighDemonslayer · Post by **HighDemonslayer** » 20 Aug 2007 10:58

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/u ... 284349.ece

A MIRACLE material for the 21st century could protect your home against bomb blasts, mop up oil spillages and even help man to fly to Mars.

Aerogel, one of the worldâ€™s lightest solids, can withstand a direct blast of 1kg of dynamite and protect against heat from a blowtorch at more than 1,300C.

Scientists are working to discover new applications for the substance, ranging from the next generation of tennis rackets to super-insulated space suits for a manned mission to Mars.
Background

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: â€œIt 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.â€

sanuke okumatzu · Post by **sanuke okumatzu** » 20 Aug 2007 13:56

Nifty...... I wonder though, what that jacket looked like... That looks sweet as hell.

What about the material itself? Not just using it to insulate or laminate things. What can just the pure form be used for, ( aside from 'pollution absorption' ).

HG · Post by HG » 20 Aug 2007 16:51

one pound of aerogel, which is the size of an adult male human being, can support the weight of a 2 ton car.

Colin · Post by **Colin** » 20 Aug 2007 18:50

Another generation of tennis rackets?

... fuck.

King Monkey · Post by **King Monkey** » 20 Aug 2007 21:33

QM03 with Aerogel soles?

janis · Post by **janis** » 20 Aug 2007 23:28

Colin wrote:Another generation of tennis rackets?

... fuck.

LOL!

QuantumBalance · Post by **QuantumBalance** » 25 Aug 2007 10:37

Siiiick find!

Splint · Post by **Splint** » 25 Aug 2007 11:12

I heard they're also looking at using it to fill footbags in Pakistan and Nike made a prototype sneaker with aerogel in the sole. Some 8 years old pakistani kid who made both the footbag and the sneaker in his little sweat shop, stole the prototpes and was reported to jump so high that he hit a septuple ATW on his first try without ever having even kicked a footbag before.

gMoney · Post by **gMoney** » 27 Aug 2007 19:43

That's fucking awesome.

HighDemonslayer · Post by **HighDemonslayer** » 29 Aug 2007 08:50

Build a 4-square out of the stuff.

and make a kicking suit, so ppl can kick outside when it's -30 below 0.

Benzilla · Post by **Benzilla** » 30 Aug 2007 11:25

so cool...yet it looks so fake.

Im not doubting that it doesn't exist but....well yeah, i guess i am. I'll believe it when i see this crazy stuff

frozenwalkway · Post by **frozenwalkway** » 30 Aug 2007 19:21

this shit is pretty old. a few years ago the screen savers on tech tv got a piece of it hands on and showed it on camera. i think some one accidentaly ate a piece of it on the show and i think they broke it too LOL .

HG · Post by HG » 30 Aug 2007 19:47

Aerogel's tears cure cancer, too bad Aerogel never cries.

When the boogieman goes to bed, he checks his closet for Aerogel.

professor · Post by **professor** » 31 Aug 2007 10:46

Aerogel puts the "laughter" in manslaughter.

Aerogel doesn't give Christmas gifts, if you live to see Christmas, that is your gift.

Blue_turnip · Post by **Blue_turnip** » 01 Sep 2007 18:24

Benzilla wrote: so cool...yet it looks so fake.

Im not doubting that it doesn't exist but....well yeah, i guess i am. I'll believe it when i see this crazy stuff

I honestly don't get how you can refuse to believe its existance.

Look it up on wikipedia or something.

Aerogel once visited the virgin islands. They are now the islands.

There is no theory of evolution. Just animals aerogel allows to live.

StephenT91 · Post by **StephenT91** » 02 Sep 2007 10:28

The Ninja Turtles are real. One time aerogel ate a turtle and it came out 6 feet tall and knew karate.

My only Chuck Norris joke.

professor · Post by **professor** » 07 Sep 2007 16:43

StephenT91 wrote:My only Chuck Norris joke.

Chuck Norris? Who's that? This is a thread about Aerogel...psh...kids.

Aerogel can speak braille.
If at first you don't succeed, you are obviously not Aerogel.

Blue_turnip · Post by **Blue_turnip** » 08 Sep 2007 01:22

Aerogel doesn't sleep. It waits.

Aerogel is the reason Wally is hiding.

sanuke okumatzu · Post by **sanuke okumatzu** » 08 Sep 2007 06:50

isn't it waldo?

Blue_turnip · Post by **Blue_turnip** » 08 Sep 2007 06:56

depends on what part of the world you're from. Where I was born, it was always "where's wally?"