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Aerogel in Hand

Produced by:  NASA/JPL
Copyright: NASA Copyright Free Policy
Date Released: 13 June 2001

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Aerogel Quick Facts

  • It is 99.8% Air
  • Provides 39 times more insulating than the best fiberglass insulation
  • Is 1,000 times less dense than glass
  • Was used on the Mars Pathfinder rover

Aerogel is a silicon-based solid with a porous, sponge-like structure in which 99.8 percent of the volume is empty space. By comparison, aerogel is 1,000 times less dense than glass, which is another silicon-based solid. When a particle hits the aerogel, it buries itself in the material, creating a carrot-shaped track up to 200 times its own length. This slows it down and brings the sample to a relatively gradual stop. Since aerogel is mostly transparent - with a distinctive smoky blue cast - scientists will use these tracks to find the tiny particles.

Copyright © 1995-2016 by Calvin J. Hamilton. All rights reserved.