Applications for Aerogels

[Cloxxki]

Normally it's not to wise to take a material, and then find a way to get it to some use. Unless its littering your workshop of course, left over from a project.

Aerogels. Polymers composed of mostly empty space, or air. Very fine structures, resulting in densities in the shaving foam range, or below. Yet, while having SOME structural intensity to them. And, as far as I've read, usually with extra-ordinary thermal insulation properties.

General uses already identified and persued that I know of:
- Construction of houses. Whole wall layers from Aerogel, or even just spacing structural wooden beams from the outside wall already significantly increases insulation.
- Windows. Some aerogels are see-though, while insulating from intense heat at minimal thicknesses.
- Space crafts have been mentioned. A light space craft takes little power to be propelled, and crashes softly. Drop out of orbit, and land much like a tree leaf. The decelleration when entering athmosphere may be a bit rough, but heat won't be the problem.
- Apparently, aerogel was once used in clothing. A light winter jacket. People didn't like it. It was TOO hot to wear comfortably. Space suits could be like a full-body wetsuit, when made out of aerogel. Light, and comforatable.
- I read about aerogel used in a tennis racket.

Houses made entirely from Aerogels would, jokingingly theorizing, require a single candle to heat in the worst of winter, and a single cold pint of water to cool things through a hot summer day. Ballpark, those jokes may now even be that far off the mark.

Imagine taking advantage of the seasons (while we still have them).
We dig a huge hole in the ground. Two, actually.
Aerogel lines the walls.
In the winter, on the coldest days, we top off one hole with snow and ice. If local winters don't offer sub-zero temperatures or mountain creeks, just tap off a lake, with the colest water it's got to offer. Lid goes on.
In the summer, water is heated on a nearby "black" field, before being poored in the hole. Lid on.

Aerogel conserves the temperature on each storage almost indefinately. We can tap heat or cold when we need it.
In the old days, every castle had its ice cellar. Deep into the summer or een fall, the ice would keep the meat and fish fresh in there. THe lord of the castle never had to do without of-season feasts.

Obviously, work is to be done to optimize the various kinds of aerogels. Some will need to become less brittle, some will need to bear greater surface pressures. Coatings will be a big deal.
Then, manufacturing costs will need to come down. Volumes increased.

I see chances in automotive. Do away with air in the tires, reduce costs. Insulations reduces aircon use, reduces pollution.

With a low-density, and relatively high-strength material, the application are endless. I get the impressing too little is being done for the better of the world. Steel/Aluminum cartel suppression? ;-)
Aerogels have been around for many decades, and I've never seen it, let alone do I own a product utilizing it.

Please use this topic to educate me and others, and to come up with good uses for aerogels, which might justify developing versions special properties.

Thanks,

J

[onthecuttingedge2005]

Hi Clox.

I see that your heart is truly trying to be Green.

The Semiconductor Industries will some day use nothing but Aerogels but the cost of manufacturing is the enemy of this so valued material. the price must drop by 1000% to make it a dream come true. it will save the world in more than one way.

Ultra Hard Carbon Nano Tube Aerogels will bring about new space age materials that almost seem Godly by normal standards, the material would be so feather light but so incredibly impervious to projectiles and is not brittle because of it is of a carbon fiber which adds to its superior strength and resilience.

Diamond Thin Film Stranded Carbon Nano Tube Aerogels are the folklore and ferry tales of Elvish Amour that is almost indestructible by nature impervious to chemicals and have the highest heat insulation properties than any other substance. Ferry Tales are not so taled after all.

these Carbon Nano Tube Aerogels will coat everything in the form of thin film Aerogels, Thin film Aerogels are not currently on the table yet but soon.

then there are Solar Cell Technologies that will benefit from Thin film Aerogels that will increase efficiencies to 99.998% because future Areogels with properties undiscovered as of today will be able to trap light with the greatest efficiencies and use this trapped light to convert to electricity.

Buildings made entirely of Photoelectric Aerogels will generate so much electricity that power companies will no longer be needed.

the remaining power would just be stored for other purposes, Thermal Aerogel Solar Cells would be so sensitive that they would work at night with very little temperature, they would also utilize the body heat of people to generate electricity.

Superconductive Aerogels will be another story all to itself! not to mention Magnetic Aerogels as well.

If you really want to get rid of all those power hungry robbers then now is your chance! Study, Research, Test, Test, Test.

What's the best reason to use Aerogels, (Waste Not).
It is the land of ounce not the land of Oz.

America needs to take responsibility for itself.
Jerry

[Cloxxki]

Thanks for the reply Jerry.

But really, if I find out about something great with Aerogels, I may decide to not tell America about it, at all. They'll just clasify it for 20 years, while they do nothing to make the stuff any better.

[gravityblock]

What affects would occur if you made a two-way mirror with a transparent Aerogel?  This could lead to many uses, such as with a laser.

Aerogel fluorescent light bulbs is another application I can think of.  Maybe it wouldn't work as a fluorescent light bulb if it traps most of the light.  Then it would be good for black body radiation experiments.  Possibly cloaking and invisibility of objects.  If it absorbed most of the light, then little to no light would be reflected back to the retina and would appear to be a black body.  This could be very advantageous for covert night time operations, etc.  I'm not sure about this though.

These Aerogels do have the potential to change the world, for the good and for the bad.  What path will we choose?  LOL


GB

[onthecuttingedge2005]

I am plagued by Daja Vu.

it is like a haunting, what would you do?

I understand it but yet I don't understand it. it's nuts!

the closer I get the more it haunts me.

I am growing tired of being haunted by my own mind. it is not healthy.

Jerry