Aerogels, Solids Lighter then Air.

MEEN 3344 001 Dr. Larry Peel

John Calvin Martinez February 25th 2009

What are Aerogels?

Aerogels were first created by Samuel Stephens Kistler in 1951. Strengths
Aerogels are solid, but can be less dense then air. Despite their sparse molecular structure aerogels are strong. Aerogels are excellent insulators. Weaknesses Aerogels are traditionally expensive and difficult to manufacture, and they are difficult to handle.

Practical Applications
Aerogels have numerous applications. NASA used an aerogel to capture space dust, with the Stardust spacecraft. NASA also used an aerogel to insulate the Mars Rover. The US Navy is investigating the use of aerogels to provide more insulation for divers. And aerogels are also being used in detectors for particle physics.

Aerogel blocks on NASA's stardust detector

Aerogel as insulation

2 grams of aerogel supporting 2.4 Kg brick

Manufacturing
Aerogels a formed by a process known as supercritical drying, in which the liquid from the gel base is removed and replaced by a gas, leaving a solid structure.
Aspen Aerogels is a leading producer of aerogels, having streamlined to production process to reduce the cost of production.

References
Wikipedia Aerogels 18th February 2009 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerogel> NASA Science and Technical Information, Spinoff2001

<http://www.sti.nasa.gov/tto/spinoff2001/ch5.html>
Aspen Aerogels

<http://www.aerogel.com/>
All pictures are from the Aerogel photo gallery

<http://www.aerogem.com/aerogel-photo-gallery.html>