What is Aerogel?
Aerogel is a synthetically produced amorphous silica gel impregnated into a non-woven flexible fabric substrate, offering the twin benefits of extreme thermal performance and a flexible blanket form. To meet customer demands, Aspen Aerogels may use a variety of aerogel additives and fabric substrate materials. Aspen Aerogels products utilize nanoporous structures that minimize the three mechanisms of thermal transport, resulting in thermal conductivity values in the 12 15 mW/m-K range.
Aerogel is an advanced material which holds 15 entries in the Guinness Book of Records for properties such as lowest density solid and best insulator. It is a silica-based substance, consisting of a loose dendritic network of the atom silicon. Aerogel is manufactured by delicately removing the liquid, usually ethanol, from a silica alcogel, replacing it with nothing but air, which makes up 99.8% of the final product. Some aerogels have a density as low as .001 grams per cubic centimeter (.0005 ounces per cubic inch). The tactile sensation of aerogel is like that of hard plastic foam. Its physical appearance is semi-transparent like that of solidified fog, earning it the nickname “frozen smoke.” Aerogel shatters easily, making it unsuitable as a stand-alone insulator for windows, but it can support up to 2000 times its own weight. It is very expensive due to the chemicals and processes underlying its manufacture, costing as much as $300 per cubic inch (2.54 cubic centimeters), though pr
Aerogel is made from Silicon Dioxide, the same material as ordinary Glass, only 1,000 times less dense. Aerogel (also called ‘frozen smoke’ because of its hazy blue appearance), is a truly remarkable material. It is the lightest and lowest-density solid known to exist, and holds an unbelievable 15 entries in the Guinness Book of World Records, including best insulator and lowest density solid. Aerogel is composed of 99.8% air and is chemically similar to ordinary glass. Being the world’s lightest known solid, it weighs only three times that of air. When handled, Aerogel feels like a very light, hard foam. Being chemically similar to glass, it also happens to shatter like glass, yet is incredibly strong structurally, and can support thousands of times its own weight. Theoretically, a block weighing less than a pound could support a weight of half a ton. Due to its microstructure, Aerogel is a powerful desiccant, rapidly absorbing any moisture in your fingertips when held. This usually l
It looks like frozen smoke and is the lightest and best insulating solid material on the planet. Watch as Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientist Alex Gash shows us some of the remarkable properties of aerogel. Choose from the options below to learn more about aerogel and Cabot’s Nanogel® brand aerogel, which is 95% air and 5% solid. Nanogel is currently being used for its unique characteristics like hydrophobicity and ultra-low thermal conductivity in products ranging from architectural daylighting systems to oil and gas pipeline insulation.
