The collected works of ScottyB

Pardon my ignorance of something so (apparently) well known.

Pardon my ignorance of a concept, a reality that’s been around since 1931.

And pardon my ignorance a third time when I confess that I had absolutely no idea what the hell ‘Aerogel‘ was, until yesterday.

For those that share my complete lack of knowledge on the stuff, Aerogel (AKA. Frozen smoke, blue smoke, solid smoke) is a low-density solid-state material derived from gel in which the liquid component of the gel has been replaced with gas. The result is an extremely low density solid with several remarkable properties, most notably its effectiveness as an insulator. It is nicknamed frozen smoke, solid smoke or blue smoke due to its semi-transparent nature and the way light scatters in the material; however, it feels like expanded polystyrene (Styrofoam) to the touch.

Aerogel was first created by Steven Kistler in 1931, as a result of a bet with Charles Learned over who could replace the liquid inside a jam jar with gas without causing shrinkage.

Aerogels are produced by extracting the liquid component of a gel through supercritical drying. This allows the liquid to be slowly drawn off without causing the solid matrix in the gel to collapse from capillary action, as would happen with conventional evaporation. The first aerogels were produced from silica gels. Kistler’s later work involved aerogels based on alumina, chromia and tin oxide. Carbon aerogels were first developed in the early 1990s.

Scientists hail this ‘frozen smoke’ as material that will change world.

It was not until a decade ago that NASA started taking an interest in the substance and putting it to a more practical use.

In 1999 the space agency fitted its Stardust space probe with a mitt packed full of aerogel to catch the dust from a comet’s tail. It returned with a rich collection of samples last year.

In 2002 Aspen Aerogel, a company created by Nasa, produced a stronger and more flexible version of the gel. It is now being used to develop an insulated lining in space suits for the first manned mission to Mars, scheduled for 2018.

Mark Krajewski, a senior scientist at the company, believes that an 18mm layer of aerogel will be sufficient to protect astronauts from temperatures as low as -130C. “It is the greatest insulator we’ve ever seen,” he said.

Aerogel is also being used for everyday applications. Dunlop, the sports equipment company, has developed a range of squash and tennis rackets strengthened with aerogel, which are said to deliver more power.

Earlier this year Bob Stoker, 66, from Nottingham, became the first Briton to have his property insulated with aerogel. “The heating has improved significantly. I turned the thermostat down five degrees. It’s been a remarkable transformation,” he said.

Mountain climbers are also converts. Last year Anne Parmenter, a British mountaineer, climbed Everest using boots that had aerogel insoles, as well as sleeping bags padded with the material. She said at the time: “The only problem I had was that my feet were too hot, which is a great problem to have as a mountaineer.”

However, it has failed to convince the fashion world. Hugo Boss created a line of winter jackets out of the material but had to withdraw them after complaints that they were too hot.

In summary - its essentially the most awesome stuff on the planet, it could completely change our world in years to come, is revolutionary, is one of the best displays of nano technology at work, its awesome, it is one of the greatest insulators, one of the worlds lightest solids, can withstand a direct blast of 1kg of dynamite, capable of mopping up oil spillages, may even assist in flying Humans to Mars. And it is awesome.

So how can I have never heard about it?! Not at school, not from friends, not from peers. I’m a pretty frequent web user and I’ve been on the Internet for about 15 years now, I’m quite the square, so this sort of thing is right up my alley and the sites I’d expect this to appear on (and up until now with the site I saw it featured on) have never shown so much as a hint of it.

Realistically one of the most powerfully potential inventions and there’s virtually zip of a backing behind it?

Makes me wonder what else I’m missing out on!

So if you’re like me - and up until this entry had never heard of Aerogel, take a read. Awesome stuff.

Link: Aerogel
Link: ‘Frozen smoke’ will change world - TimesOnline
Link: Aerogel at YouTube