3 ms·

So these guys have invented a flexible aerogel and they need a Kickstarter before they can get funded to make some jackets? Where did this miracle material come

• ortusdux 11y ago
  There is a chance that they are using a new aerogel made from cellulose that is prized for its strength and flexibility. Article: http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2014/07/plant-material-aligns-make-tough-aerogels-nanocellulose http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2014/07/plant-material-ali... Publication: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.1002/anie.201405123/abstract http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.1002/anie.2014051... One thing I find interesting is that 'aerogel' is a category of materials. I thought it was reserved for the silica based aerogel i've seen countless news stories about. The wiki definition is "Aerogel is a synthetic porous ultralight material derived from a gel, in which the liquid component of the gel has been replaced with a gas". Theoretically, you could market fiberglass insulation as 'Aerogel insulation' if you suspended the glass fibers in a gel and then replaced the gel with a gas. The result could have worse insulative properties that standard fiberglass and yet technically be an aerogel.