Aerogel is a synthetic ultralight porous solid derived from a gel, made by extracting the gel's liquid component through supercritical drying or freeze-drying so the solid network survives without collapsing. Samuel Stephens Kistler created the first aerogel in 1931, reportedly the result of a bet with Charles Learned over who could replace the liquid in a jelly with gas without shrinking it. Prized for extreme thermal insulation at up to 99.8 percent air by volume, aerogel has insulated spacecraft, captured cosmic dust aboard NASA's Stardust mission, and is increasingly used in building retrofits, filtration and energy storage. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Primary UseSourced to the subject's own accountExtreme thermal insulation for spacecraft, apparel and building retrofits; cosmic dust capture; water and environmental filtration; supercapacitor and catalyst supports. 1 Origin YearSourced to the subject's own account Connections
Associated With
Aerogel insulation is used in spacecraft thermal protection and cryogenic tank insulation, a second field beyond its primary materials-engineering field.
Source Aerogel (Wikipedia)
Space Suit, Inventions Silica aerogel is used as thermal insulation in NASA spacesuit gloves and spacecraft insulation.
In Field
Sources
1. Aerogel (Wikipedia)
WikipediaIntroductionQuote, Introduction
Aerogels are produced by extracting the liquid component of a gel through supercritical drying or freeze-drying.
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