Aerogel: Light As A Feather, Stiff As A Board
4 Comments Published by Alex December 14th, 2006 in Gadgets. Share This
While this is not specifically ‘man-oriented’, it’s simply too cool to not be excited about.
Aerogel has been around since the 1930’s, but until some folks over at NASA realized that they could actually do something with this silicon-based junk—catch bits of interstellar dust—it hasn’t been particularly media-friendly. Which to me is odd, since it’s far more interesting than, say, Silly Putty or Krazy Glue; you might not be able to pick up comic book ink or fix the broken handle on your favorite coffee cup with it, but then again, they’ll never be able to catch pieces of a comet with either of those substances. Pretty good for stuff that’s 98.8% air. But what would one do with it at home? (I’d like to make a refrigerator out of it.)
Want to buy it? A company called United Nuclear sells bits of aerogel starting from $19 for “shards” up to $140 for “large pieces.”
The stuff is just far too expensive to put into any practical day-to-day use products.
@middy: Yet. But just wait.
I have a large sample, and while its utility is…limited, it’s still fun to play with. I need to refuel my kitchen blowtorch to reproduce the crayon test.
This stuff was used to capture commet fragments by nasa a little while back. Apparently this is the best insulation ever made Im pretty sure we will find this in homes in the near future. the best part is it’s made from sand.
What do I give a man for Valentine’s Day that my boyfriend will really like? Men do not get into the cute Valentine stuff..:(
If there is something he wants, he will never ask. It is not what a man does. I do know that if the gift is practical, he enjoys it more and it is more apt to get used as opposed to put in a drawer.
Come on guys help us gals out if you really want to start getting the things that you like. :)