°•. Extreme
Properties
of
Aerogels
- Lowest density solid (0.0011 g cm-3)
- Lowest optical index of refraction (1.002)
- Lowest thermal conductivity (0.016 W m-1 K-1)
- Lowest speed of sound through a material (70 m s-1)
- Lowest dielectric constant from 3-40 GHz (1.008)
- Highest specific surface area for a monolithic material (3200 m g-1)
°•.
Material Properties of Aerogels
Aerogels
have
many
special properties such as the lowest density of a solid, the
lowest mean free path of diffusion of any solid material, the highest
specific surface area of any non-powder material, the lowest
dielectric constant of any solid material, and the slowest speed of
sound through any solid material.
These
properties
are
not true for all Aerogels but the list of attributes are
found in the collective group known as Aerogels. By altering the
chemical makeup of these Aerogels the properties are also changed so it
is very easy to tailor Aerogels for specific purposes making them
highly applicable for many things.
For example inorganic aerogels excellent thermal insulators and
excellent dielectric materials (electrical insulators), and most carbon
aerogels are both good thermal insulators and electrical conductors.
These properties are determined by the way they are processed when they
are being formed and their chemical makeup.
°•. Interesting facts
- Particles
traveling
six
times faster than a rifle bullet can be stopped by a
block of Aerogel
- It
is one
thousand
times less dense than glass
- Depending
on
their
density, aerogels can usually hold a gently applied load of up
to 2,000 times their weight and sometimes more
- Can
withstand
a
direct blast of 1kg of dynamite
- Protect
against
heat
from a blowtorch at more than 1,300C.
- A
block the size of a human weighs less than a pound
- Some
types
of
Aerogel provide 39 times more insulation than fiberglass
- Is
Composed
of
99.8% air
- If
one cubic centimetre of aerogel were unravelled it would fill an area
the size of a football field
