Aerogel Sample Disc for $34.99
Prepare to geek out with a handful (if your hands are really small) of the least-dense material known to man. It's like frozen smoke, with a density of 0.095 g/cc: 96% air. Use it as an insulator, or to trap particles of the solar wind, or just put it on the shelf and revel in your awesomeness.
by
robertb
added a year ago
I was about to post another source of these disks earlier, http://www.buyaerogel.com/, but since they are backordered for a few weeks I didn't post it. If you want more than one of them (they mention how fragile they are) you can get them for a discount here.
I had one. They are REALLY fragile. If you play with it, the tiny threads break. If it stays exposed to the atmosphere, the tiny threads decompose. Pretty soon you have a little dust in a plastic box, and you can tell your friends how kewl the thing that used to be in there used to be.
@gidgaf: I wonder if you can seal these things in acrylic? It sucks to hear that they deteriorate after a while, and even if sealing them in liquid plastic is an option, it ruins the whole 'hands on experimenting' that you'd want to do with such a material. I'll wait till they go down to five bucks or so (if they ever do) before I get any myself. I'm not too thrilled about making any aerogel on my own, considering my access to the materials required is pretty limited.
You'll be geeking out by yourself with this thing. If you spend this kind of money on something that sort of useless, then you really are alone.
If you want granulated Aerogel, you can get that at United Nuclear. They also sell these monolithic ones.
Bigger chunks like this are usually MUCH more expensive. They must've sourced some serious surplus or something.
But yeah, it doesn't handle well, plus it'll dry out your skin when you touch it. It's remarkably durable for its weight, but bear in mind it weighs only three times more than the air you're breathing, so... yeah. It's basically like styrofoam made out of glass - brittle and crumbly.
For anyone who doesn't know wtf this is and aren't interested enough to actually goto the link... This stuff was used by NASA and used in the space probe that they launched which followed a comet. The Aerogel was used to catch small fragments that broke off (what we see as the comet's tail), but in a way to keep them in pristine condition, and safe when the storage capsule crashed back to Earth.
I wanted a chunk for a few years now ever since seeing the stuff on TV, but it's a damn shame it's that fragile and will decompose so easily. Plus it doesn't really offer the full visual effect in such a small sample anyways :P Maybe one day, when it's cheaper and you can get a 4" cube!
For what's it's worth, here's a link to a site I've ordered a lot of products from. Their disk is $50, but they also sell small (very small) chunks if you wanted something to play with.
http://unitednuclear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=16_17_69&products_id=89
I use to make these. In fact, my group is responsible for making the aerogel that currently holds the record in the Guinness book of world records. Really fun stuff to play with but they are brittle.
I heard Bill Gates is so loaded he uses Aerogel in place of Astroglide
In Soviet Russia, Aerogel decomposes YOU!
@wingnutzero: Hahahahaha Thats gold!
Buy this one instead:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220439610829
@davidschronic: no it's not...
@superninja: For that ebay option, shipping seems expensive at 59.99 for something so light.
So, this Aerogel can withstand the rigors of deep space, and can ride behind a comet, but you can't play with it?! Also, once exposed to Air, it starts to decompose?! Looks kewl and all, but once you get it, it loses it's kewlness factor very fast. I don't think I'll be getting any of this "Space-Age Miracle Material".
Greetings to everyone interested in materials of the future!
As one of the founders and the COO of Aerogel Technologies, the company which makes the discs being sold on the internet, I'd like to dispel a few myths about the material.
They're super light, super clear and made exclusively for R&D and for the sample market - unlike the surplus chunks that have been sold for hundred's of dollars in the past. Get ready, because in the months to come we're planning introduce ultralight, ultra-strong versions of aerogel (called "Airloys") that can literally stop bullets, larger discs, plates, hexagons, and even carbon aerogels. We're taking aerogel out of NASA labs and bringing it into the world we live in because it will help solve energy problems, improve the quality of life for everyone, and because its just so darn cool. Get ready for the ride!
@aerogeltechnologies: what say you about the bill gates and soviet russia accusations?
Isn't this the stuff that, if it were feasible to insulate your whole house with it cost-wise, you'd never have to pay to heat your house because it's THAT good of an insulator?
Some fun facts:
Aerogel is not a trade name, but rather a class of substances, of which there are a few types.
An aerogel is any gel that has had its liquid component removed and replaced with gas. The liquid is drawn off in such a way that the shape and displacement of the gel is not changed, as normally such an evaporation would cause it to shrink.
This particular aerogel is made from evaporated silica gel (the most common type), making it structurally similar to glass. In fact, when it breaks, it "shatters".
Aerogel feel like styrofoam to the touch.
Aerogels are dessicants, meaning they absorb moisture very readily. Handling them draws moisture away from your skin, and can leave temporary dry patches.
The degradation that aerogels experience is primarily from the absorption of moisture. Handling them therefore accelerates that process.
Aerogels don't just insulate well against temperature transfers, but against sound, electricity, and infrared radiation as well.
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