aerogel

Light, transparent, highly porous material composed of more than 90% air. Such materials are formed from silica, metal oxides, and organic chemicals, and are produced by drying gels – networks of linked molecules suspended in a liquid – so that air fills the spaces previously occupied by the liquid. They are excellent heat insulators and have unusual optical, electrical, and acoustic properties.

Aerogels were first produced by US scientist Samuel Kristler in the early 1930s by drying silica gels at high temperatures and pressures.