• Aerogel - A cool material!
    83 replies, posted
[QUOTE=Chubbs;34682663]Hmm, I'm thinking that you could use it to insulate things like crucibles then, so that once you heat them up you will have the stuff inside molten for longer.[/QUOTE] It starts losing its structure around 500C or so. For low temperature things such as ovens and such, it could be pretty viable for saving energy. Maybe.
[QUOTE=Chubbs;34682663]Hmm, I'm thinking that you could use it to insulate things like crucibles then, so that once you heat them up you will have the stuff inside molten for longer.[/QUOTE] The problem being, of course, that the aerogel absorbs heat so remarkably well that it would be almost impossible to melt the substance inside the crucible. You would have to transfer it, and by that time you've lost most of the heat you were trying to save. Also, what Squad said.
[QUOTE=woolio1;34682730]The problem being, of course, that the aerogel absorbs heat so remarkably well that it would be almost impossible to melt the substance inside the crucible. You would have to transfer it, and by that time you've lost most of the heat you were trying to save.[/QUOTE] Very good point. You can't heat passed the material. Using it for something like an oven and sealing the oven and heating element inside the Aerogel would be more plausible than trying to insulate a crucible.
Dr. Peter Tsou of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, "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."
wouldn't that just cause problems? [editline]13th February 2012[/editline] I guess, as long as windows aren't covered with aerogel yet, it won't though.
[QUOTE=scratch (nl);34683085]wouldn't that just cause problems? [editline]13th February 2012[/editline] I guess, as long as windows aren't covered with aerogel yet, it won't though.[/QUOTE] Have a aircondition and ventilation system installed. It's already a problem with some modern houses in the summer, they pretty much [B]NEED[/B] a aircondition system installed in order for the temperature inside to stay in the tolerate-able range.
You say you're working on photocatalysts? You may find this interesting - a real life application that's quite cool! [url]http://www.catalytic-clothing.org/[/url]
[QUOTE=mike;34683640]You say you're working on photocatalysts? You may find this interesting - a real life application that's quite cool! [url]http://www.catalytic-clothing.org/[/url][/QUOTE] Very neat indeed. My particles can basically be painted onto a surface and filled with waste water and the "junk" in the water will be oxidized into harmless materials when hit with sunlight. Could also be used for antibacterial surfaces that come in contact with sunlight.
Does it work like a sponge? The deformation aspect actually, like if you compress the gel does it expand back (to some degree)?
[QUOTE=aurum481;34684057]Does it work like a sponge? The deformation aspect actually, like if you compress the gel does it expand back (to some degree)?[/QUOTE] Not quite. It is pretty chalky feeling. Rigid. I feel like once the structure is destroyed it is pretty hard to get back.
Can you make it into a sex toy?
[QUOTE=Canary;34684883]Can you make it into a sex toy?[/QUOTE] It isn't really great for skin contact. You could try and make one, but it wouldn't be great.
Tell me more about your nanoparticles!
[QUOTE=Squad;34685046]It isn't really great for skin contact. You could try and make one, but it wouldn't be great.[/QUOTE] Could you make one and just tell us all if it works? I will pay.
[QUOTE=mike;34685048]Tell me more about your nanoparticles![/QUOTE] I am working with MoS2 (Molybdenum (IV) Disulfide) nanoparticles and WS2 (Tungsten Disulfide) nanoparticles right now. I work with both nano sized particles and micron sized particles. The nanoparticles are where are the cool properties come out. By decreasing the size of the particle you increase the edge to surface ratio creating more catalytic sites. It has current uses of desulfurization of oil. Which an interesting fact is that we no longer mine for sulfur any more. We don't have to. There is so much sulfur in the oil we use that by using MoS2 we get enough sulfur to fulfill our needs. MoS2 forms layered sheets, similar to graphite. To study these particles I have to split the sheets apart (exfoliation) and work with single layered sheets. This is extremely interesting. I get a particle that is between 5-20 nanometers wide and only 3 atoms thick. A molybdenum atom in the center with a sulfur on top and bottom. Interesting to realize that these particles are only 3 atoms thick. I can view the particles in an electron microscope to see if they are single layers, hard to do, but doable. There is also x-ray diffraction and what not that can be run to confirm trapped species and structures. After that I have the job of trying to sort these particles by size. So I want all of the 5 nm particles together, all the 10 nm particles together etc. This is proving to be a very difficult task. This process actually has to be done before the splitting of the layers because the layers pick up a mysterious negative charge after splitting them. I have pictures of these. I should have just made a thread on my nanoparticles instead of the Aerogel! Back to the particles! These particles are used by several industries and several labs, but no one knows how they work. That is what all my research is about. I am figuring out how they work and why. The particles can also be synthesized into nanotubes (VERY COOL). Many tests have to be run on the particles to get a good idea of what is going on.
[QUOTE=Canary;34685228]Could you make one and just tell us all if it works? I will pay.[/QUOTE] The reason this wouldn't work is because it's not like Silicone. It's more like a pumice stone. Hard, brittle, and riddled with tiny holes. You'd end up getting a terrible friction burn.
[QUOTE=woolio1;34686174]The reason this wouldn't work is because it's not like Silicone. It's more like a pumice stone. Hard, brittle, and riddled with tiny holes. You'd end up getting a terrible friction burn.[/QUOTE] :shrug: Maybe he's into pain?
Sandpaper dildo easier to make
[QUOTE=Craptasket;34682951]Dr. Peter Tsou of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, "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."[/QUOTE] so blow out the candle silly nasa never thinking
This is like one of those hypothetical inventions you'd see from a film like Blade Runner and you didn't even know it actually existed. :v:
[QUOTE=MingeCrab;34691867]This is like one of those hypothetical inventions you'd see from a film like Blade Runner and you didn't even know it actually existed. :v:[/QUOTE] The stuff I made isn't quite as light as it should be, due to some collapsing going on. But the small bits that did work are incredibly light. It is pretty cool to hold something in your hand that weighs nearly nothing but feels like a solid object.
as much as i hate to ask this because it's, in essence, pretty dumb, but did anyone already put this gel to battle with thermite?
[QUOTE=Elexar;34695229]as much as i hate to ask this because it's, in essence, pretty dumb, but did anyone already put this gel to battle with thermite?[/QUOTE] This sounds like an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object in terms of thermodynamics.
[QUOTE=Elexar;34695229]as much as i hate to ask this because it's, in essence, pretty dumb, but did anyone already put this gel to battle with thermite?[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Squad;34682713]It starts losing its structure around 500C or so. For low temperature things such as ovens and such, it could be pretty viable for saving energy. Maybe.[/QUOTE] And just a FYI, thermite get's [B]REALLY FUCKING HOT[/B] when ignited
[QUOTE=Elexar;34695229]as much as i hate to ask this because it's, in essence, pretty dumb, but did anyone already put this gel to battle with thermite?[/QUOTE] Thermite would destroy it. Thermite would collapse the structure and melt the material.
WHOOPS missed the 500c structural collapse post my bad
[QUOTE=Squad;34681920] The structure of the particles are my avatar actually ([b]they are kind of cute[/b]). [/QUOTE] What?
[QUOTE=Squad;34685242]I am working with MoS2 (Molybdenum (IV) Disulfide) nanoparticles and WS2 (Tungsten Disulfide) nanoparticles right now. I work with both nano sized particles and micron sized particles. The nanoparticles are where are the cool properties come out. By decreasing the size of the particle you increase the edge to surface ratio creating more catalytic sites. It has current uses of desulfurization of oil. Which an interesting fact is that we no longer mine for sulfur any more. We don't have to. There is so much sulfur in the oil we use that by using MoS2 we get enough sulfur to fulfill our needs. MoS2 forms layered sheets, similar to graphite. To study these particles I have to split the sheets apart (exfoliation) and work with single layered sheets. This is extremely interesting. I get a particle that is between 5-20 nanometers wide and only 3 atoms thick. A molybdenum atom in the center with a sulfur on top and bottom. Interesting to realize that these particles are only 3 atoms thick. I can view the particles in an electron microscope to see if they are single layers, hard to do, but doable. There is also x-ray diffraction and what not that can be run to confirm trapped species and structures. After that I have the job of trying to sort these particles by size. So I want all of the 5 nm particles together, all the 10 nm particles together etc. This is proving to be a very difficult task. This process actually has to be done before the splitting of the layers because the layers pick up a mysterious negative charge after splitting them. I have pictures of these. I should have just made a thread on my nanoparticles instead of the Aerogel! Back to the particles! These particles are used by several industries and several labs, but no one knows how they work. That is what all my research is about. I am figuring out how they work and why. The particles can also be synthesized into nanotubes (VERY COOL). Many tests have to be run on the particles to get a good idea of what is going on.[/QUOTE] very cool - what techniques are you working with to try and do the size separation? [QUOTE=Squad;34694455]The stuff I made isn't quite as light as it should be, due to some collapsing going on. But the small bits that did work are incredibly light. It is pretty cool to hold something in your hand that weighs nearly nothing but feels like a solid object.[/QUOTE] it's weird when you don't quite expect something to weigh what it actually does - halogenated solvents always feel just a bit too heavy.
[QUOTE=mike;34696914]very cool - what techniques are you working with to try and do the size separation? it's weird when you don't quite expect something to weigh what it actually does - halogenated solvents always feel just a bit too heavy.[/QUOTE] Well I tried size exclusion chromatography with polystyrene derivatives, but the particles have some kind of affinity with them and attach and never come back off the polystyrene. I then tried to use silica gel, but it couldn't pass through. I am still trying to find a good size of silica gel with a good particle size and pore size to allow the particles to flow through. Oh and I tried a "gravity sedimentation" technique. Which made sense to me at the time to try and at least get general sized fractions. Shake them up, let the big particles sink and then repeat. Well, putting them under the microscope, I couldn't tell a difference between sizes of the different fractions, so I am fairly certain that didn't work.
Could it be used to make firefighting gear lighter and more protective?
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