Aerogel: Light As A Feather, Stiff As A Board

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.”