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reply posted on 21-8-2007 @ 06:49 PM by plumranch
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reply to post by Tom Bedlam
Tom, on second thought it may have been Au in the center of a 3D carbon structure. Used only in limited defense and space applications due
expense as I recall. Thanks!
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reply posted on 21-8-2007 @ 07:03 PM by eagle32
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Where have i seen this and why do i recall holding some and it was 'as light as air' which of course makes no sense.
Or did I imagine holding it and just seen this from videos in the past.
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reply posted on 21-8-2007 @ 08:21 PM by Now_Then
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reply to post by sardion2000
Ahhh! - least I didn't dream that one thing!! (seriously, getting confused atm)
Thanks
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reply posted on 21-8-2007 @ 09:04 PM by spacedoubt
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reply to post by sardion2000
Wait!
"Stardust" was the Aerogel mission..It landed successfully, with return samples From Comet Wild (Vilt) 2.
Stardust
"Genesis" was the mission that crashed..It was collecting Solar wind particles. The collector in this mission was made of various higher density
crystalline substances..
I know, picky picky...
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reply posted on 22-8-2007 @ 12:06 AM by pavil
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 Originally posted by Tom Bedlam
They were small, blindingly intense, and good for 20 years or so. There was a project between EG&G, Sandia and LLNL to pump little lasers with them
that didn't need any electrical power. You can find the gubmint's patents on that all over the place. 
I will take your word with the links, it looks legit. What are the drawbacks to it? There must be some practical applications unless they are too
fragile.
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reply posted on 22-8-2007 @ 10:26 AM by Tom Bedlam
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You're not allowed to make tritium lights in the US unless it meets some set of criteria which I can't recall. I've got tritium gun sights, so
that's one, and I know they make eternal exit signs out of it.
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reply posted on 22-8-2007 @ 03:46 PM by Beachcoma
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Originally posted by watch_the_rocks
It's a pity it is so expensive, as it would be perfect for making surfboards.
Wait, I just watched a documentary on Discovery yesterday and the scientist they were interviewing showed that it was pretty easy and cheap to make.
But then you'd need an industrial strength pressure cooker to produce the final product...
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reply posted on 22-8-2007 @ 03:49 PM by grover
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Does this mean we will now have frozen smoke and mirrors along with the regular variety? 
[edit on 22-8-2007 by grover]
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reply posted on 23-8-2007 @ 04:40 PM by sardion2000
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Aerogel is also very toxic to humans. Just look what it's made from.
 homepages.cae.wisc.edu...
Aerogel starts out as a gel, called alcogel. For you scientists--Alcogels are made by polymerizing a silicon alkoxide (Si(OR)4, where the R is an
alkyl group) with water in a mixing solvent (such as ethanol). The reaction occurs by hydrolysis and water condensation, joining together the
alkoxide molecules making silicon-oxygen bonds to form oligomers (mini-polymers). The oligomers join together and form one giant molecule, which is
the solid part of a gel. Easy, right? The silica matrix in the alcogel is filled with ethanol, having tiny little pockets 5 to 150 nanometers
across. These tiny pockets of ethanol in the gel are called nanopores. Nano is the metric prefix for one billionth, and a nanometer (abbreviated nm)
is one billionth of a meter--close to the size of some atoms.
I think the race right now is to develop a safe Aerogel. Also I hear Platiunum is also critical in the manufacturing process which could be why the
stuff is so expensive to buy, I would really love to have this stuff insulating my house.
[edit on 23-8-2007 by sardion2000]
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reply posted on 23-8-2007 @ 07:57 PM by GradyPhilpott
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Originally posted by ninthaxis
Is this more alien technology that has been reverse engineered by the government?
It was invented by an American chemist for a bet in 1931, but early versions were so brittle and costly that it was largely consigned to
laboratories. It was not until a decade ago that Nasa started taking an interest in the substance and putting it to a more practical use.
www.timesonline.co.uk...
What other alien technology do you know of?
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reply posted on 23-8-2007 @ 10:03 PM by ninthaxis
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Go ahead and laugh. When you find out that the government has been reverse engineering alien technology, I'll be the one that is laughing. You are
more than welcome to join the discussion, if you would like to laugh and not contribute, please refrain from posting. I just find it strange that a
substance "discovered" by a scientist sits on the shelf for decades and NASA is using it now.
Mod Note: Big Quote – Please Review This Link.
[edit on 24-8-2007 by Jbird]
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reply posted on 24-8-2007 @ 01:49 AM by Beachcoma
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It's not that strange. It takes time for the process to become widespread. For example methamphetamine was synthesized by the Japanese in the late
1800. In the world war eras the military picked it up and it was only in the past two decades that civilian meth-labs began producing the drug in
plague-like proportions for abuse.
Though Transformers was a cool movie, I doubt every wonderous technology we humans have was reverse-engineered off of Megatron
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reply posted on 24-8-2007 @ 07:51 AM by fweshcawfee
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Originally posted by ninthaxis
Is this more alien technology that has been reverse engineered by the government?
Nah I doubt it.
This stuff is made by working with just silica gel which has been around since the 17th century according to
wiki. They extract the water, replace it with a gas and poof - frozen smoke.
The technology was first invented by an American Scientist 75 years ago according to the story you quoted, and Nasa started using it in the 90's.
Guess they didn't bother to really look into it before then.
Just plain ole' science imo.
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