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Article: Through a glass lightly. (aerogels, transparent materials more insulating than glass and almost as light as air)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- October 8, 1988
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1988 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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CONSIDER a transparent material that is 100 times more insulating than glass, and almost as light as air. It is hard to imagine, but has proved not impossible to make. It is being sold by Airglass, a small Swedish firm that will seek customers among makers of solar panels for heating water. The panels are only the beginning. After more than 50 years in the laboratory, a class of materials known as aerogels is beginning to make its ghostly presence felt.
Aerogels have unusual properties because they are made the same way as jellies. A chemist, like a cook, can make a jelly out of all sorts of substances by stirring the right chemicals into water and leaving the ...