Miracle Material for the 21st Century?

A recent article in the Times Online is touting the amazing properties of what some are calling the miracle material for the 21st century.  Aerogel, also known as “frozen smoke,” is made by extracting water from a silica gel, then replacing it with gas such as carbon dioxide and derives it’s nickname from it’s cloudy appearance.  To the touch, aerogels feels like a light but rigid foam, something between styrofoam and the green floral foam used for arranging flowers.

While still considered a solid, 99% of the substance is actually made up of gas, making it one of the world’s lightest solids.  Comprised of millions of nano-sized pores, it acts like a super sponge, capable of filtering pollutants from water such as lead, mercury or crude oil.  Plus, due to it’s super low density, it’s also capable of insulating extreme temperatures, finding applications in everything from sleeping bags and clothing to lining the space suits for the first manned mission to Mars.

Aerogels are also incredibly strong, able to resist direct blasts from dynamite with next to no damage.  So far it’s been tested to strengthen sporting goods equipment like tennis rackets and even the possibility of bomb proofing houses hasn’t been ruled out.

Times Online: Scientist hail ‘frozen smoke’ as material that will change world