What is an Aerogel ?
Aerogel is an ultralight, porous material derived from a gel, where the liquid component of the gel is replaced with a gas. Often called "frozen smoke" or "solid air" due to its translucent appearance and extremely low density, aerogels are among the lightest solid materials known. They possess remarkable thermal insulation properties, high surface area, and low thermal conductivity, making them useful for a variety of applications, such as insulation, aerospace, environmental cleanup, and even in energy storage devices. Aerogels are typically made from silica, but they can also be produced from other materials like carbon, metal oxides, or organic polymers. Aerogel is a synthetic porous ultralight material derived from a gel, in which the liquid component is replaced with a gas without collapsing the solid matrix. This results in a material that is 90–99.8% air, giving it an extremely low density. The solid part of the aerogel is a nanostructured network that spans...