An extremely light and porous solid material made by removing liquid from a gel, leaving mostly air trapped in a network of solid particles, with remarkable insulating properties.
From aero- (air) and gel (semi-solid substance). Invented in the 1930s by Samuel Kistler, the term describes a material that's 99% air but remarkably strong.
Aerogel is so light that a kilogram of it could fill a room, yet it's strong enough to support heavy objects—NASA uses it to insulate spacecraft and capture space dust because it barely disturbs delicate samples!
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