all about aerogel mk
DESCRIPTION
A powerpoint for the nisenet.org aerogel programTRANSCRIPT
ALL ABOUT AEROGEL
Aerogel is nanotechnology
• A nanometer is 1 billionth of a meter.
• A hair is 80,000 nm wide.
• Aerogel is a glass foam with bubbles 10 nm wide.
Scanning electron microscope picture of aerogel (Photo: Mohan Edirisinghe, University College, London and Paolo Colombo. Used by permission)
Why is aerogel blue?
• The sky, glaciers and aerogel all have tiny particles or bubbles that scatter light.
• Blue scatters the most, so they all look blue.
What is aerogel good for?
• Tiny bubbles make amazing insulators
• 40 times better than fiberglass
NASA photo
Aerogel insulates
• Aerogel panels in OMSI’s roof!
• Keeps building warm
• Lets light through
Aerogel is strong
• Aerogel is super strong for its weight.
• A 2.5 kg brick supported on top of a piece of aerogel weighing only 2 grams – over 1000 times lighter!
NASA photo
Strength under pressure
• Mix alcohol and silicon together
• Under high pressure and temperature, replace liquid with gas
(CC) Stian Martinsen via Flickr
Aerogel is light
• NASA uses aerogel because it’s really lightweight.
• Cheaper to fly into space
• Used on the Stardust probe
NASA photo
Catching comets
• Tiny particles of space dust get stuck in aerogel.
Stardust @ home
• You can look at particles yourself!
http://stardustathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/ss_tutorial.php?schedule_number=10
• http://stardustathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/
• This project was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. ESI-0532536.
• Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation.