Aerogel: A Miracle Material For The 21st Century

Aerogel (one of the world's lightest solids) can withstand a direct blast of 1kg of dynamite and protect against heat from a blowtorch at more than 1,300°C.

Aerogel is a low-density solid-state material derived from gel in which the liquid component of the gel has been replaced with gas. The result is an extremely low density solid with several remarkable properties, most notably its effectiveness as an insulator. It's nicknamed "frozen smoke", "solid smoke" or "blue smoke" due to its semi-transparent nature and the way light scatters in the material.

Aerogel was first created by Steven Kistler in 1931, as a result of a bet with Charles Learned over who could replace the liquid inside a jam jar with gas without causing shrinkage.

To the touch, aerogels feel like a light but rigid foam, something between Styrofoam and the green floral foam used for arranging flowers.

Despite what their name may suggest, aerogels are dry materials and don't really resemble a gel in their physical properties but a nanofoam. "Aerogel" comes from the fact that they are derived from gels. Pressing softly on an aerogel typically doesn't leave a mark; pressing more firmly will leave a permanent dimple. Pressing firmly enough will cause a catastrophic breakdown in the sparse structure, causing it to shatter like glass.

Aerogel is being tested for future bombproof housing and armour for military vehicles. In the laboratory, a metal plate coated in 6mm of aerogel was left almost unscathed by a direct dynamite blast.

It's also described by scientists as the "ultimate sponge", with millions of tiny pores on its surface making it ideal for absorbing pollutants in water. Its nano-sized pores can not only collect pollutants like a sponge but they also act as air pockets.

Although aerogel is classed as a solid, 99% of the substance is made up of gas, which gives it a cloudy appearance.


Scientists say that because it has so many millions of pores and ridges, if one cubic centimetre of aerogel were unravelled, it would fill an area the size of a football field.

How cool is that???