Why aerogels may take us to space
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Transcript of Why aerogels may take us to space
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Why aerogels may take us to space
Silica aerogels and collecting stardust
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Introduction to Aerogels
Aerogels are the lightest solid material in the world, with up to 99.98% air by volume. They are nicknamed ‘frozen smoke’. They currently have 15 Guinness World Records.
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History
The term ‘aerogel’ was first introduced in 1932 by Samuel Kistler, an American scientist and chemical engineer, to describe gels in which the liquid had been replaced by a gas. Gels had been previously been dried by evaporation but Kistler used the ‘supercritical drying’ technique, which is still used to produce aerogels today.
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Supercritical Drying
Removing all the liquid in a gel without changing the structure of it. This is done as follows:• Alcogels are
pressurized and cooled
• Liquid CO2• Heated and
pressurized• Slow release of CO2
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Properties of Aerogel
•Density • 1.9 mg/cm3
• Tensile Strength• 16 kPa
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Structure
Aerogels have a complicated, cross-linked internal structure.
Micropores = < 2 nm diameterMesopores = 2-50 nm diameterMacropores = > 50 nm diameter
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Stress, Strain and Young’s Modulus
Young’s Modulus – 106 Pa
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Insulation
"You could take a two or three-bedroom house, insulate it with aerogel, and you could heat the house with a candle. But eventually the house would become too hot." - Dr. Peter Tsou of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
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NASA’s Stardust Mission
• The main aim is to discover more about the origins of the solar system with cometary particles & interstellar dust.
• Relatively pure cometary samples can be obtained.
• These are useful because they are less likely to have cross-contaminated by neighboring bodies.
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Tennis racquet shaped collector
Collection Problems:• Very high velocities
leading to damaged samples
• Tiny particles impossible to find on collection
Aerogel’s Solutions:• Sponge-like structure
provides safe, gradual stop for particles
• Transparency for ease of particle tracking
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Future of Aerogels
X-aerogels
• Insulating skylights• Armor• Non-deflatable tires• Aircraft structural
components• Heat shields for spacecraft
re-entry
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Bibliography
https://www.llnl.gov/str/Foxhighlight.htmlhttp://www.aip.org/tip/INPHFA/vol-10/iss-5/p26.htmlhttp://science.howstuffworks.com/aerogel4.htmhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHnen2nSmDY http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerogelhttp://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/images/technology/aerogelhand.jpghttp://www.aerogel.org/?p=345http://www.aerogel.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/inorganicaerogels1.gifhttp://engineering.union.edu/~andersoa/Senior8.jpghttp://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/RT/2004/RM/RM11P-leventis.htmlhttps://www.llnl.gov/str/Foxhighlight.htmlhttp://thermablok.com/ http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/tech/aerogel.html http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/Carbon_dioxide_pressure-temperature_phase_diagram.svg/220px-Carbon_dioxide_pressure-temperature_phase_diagram.svg.pnghttp://www.sps.aero/Key_ComSpace_Articles/TSA-009_White_Paper_Silica_Aerogels.pdfhttp://msnbcmedia1.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/040421/040421_aerogel_torch_bcol5p.grid-4x2.jpg
Aerogels Handbook – Michel A. Aegerter
The unbeatable lightness of aerogels: Take 10 parts of metal oxide, 90 parts of air, mix well - and watch industry fall upon the product with glee – New Scientist - 1993