ACEIZE

Aerogel is a class of materials characterized by its extreme lightweight, and solid state. It is made by replacing the liquid of a gel with gas. First developed in the 1930's, it has seen a revitalization since being used by NASA. Experiments have shown that "producing aerogel in a weightless environment can produce particles with a more uniform size and reduce the Rayleigh scattering effect in silica aerogel, thus making the aerogel less blue and more transparent. Transparent silica aerogel would be very suitable as a thermal insulation material for windows, significantly limiting thermal losses of buildings." -- from Wikipedia.

There are several types of aerogel. Silica based, Aluminum based and carbon based.

General Properties
The specific properties of an aerogel can vary depending on what elements are used in fabrication. However, there are some general similarities.

• Thermal insulator, provides 39 times the insulation of fiberglass.
• Electrical insulator. Although Carbon Aerogels can conduct electricity.
• Extreme lightweight. 1000 times less dense than glass -- as low as 3mg/cc.
• Semi-Transparent. Aerogel manufactured on Earth has a blueish tint. Although aerogel manufactured in space has slightly different qualities, as noted above.
• Strong, able to hold 2000 times it's own weight.
• Friable, given enough pressure an aerogel will fracture like glass.
• Hydrophilic, although water absorption will cause the material to degrade so additives are included in processing to make either the surface or the compound hydrophobic.

Current Uses

• Used as thermal insulation for the Mars Rover and space suits.
• In a granular form, used for Skylight insulation. Also used as a paint and cosmetics additive for thickening.
• See wikipedia for a more extensive list
• When combined with reinforcing fibers, aerogel can be a durable and flexible material.