A Cabinet of CuriositiesTumblr (3.0; @irreal)http://irreal.tumblr.com/<img src="http://2.media.tumblr.com/dtyDPcp5npbmwp2lO0f7mhuno1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://www.unitednuclear.com/aerogel.htm">Aerogel</a> (also called ‘frozen smoke’ because of its hazy blue appearance), is a truly remarkable material. It is the lightest and lowest-density solid known to exist, and holds an unbelievable 15 entries in the Guinness Book of World  Records, including best insulator and lowest density solid. Aerogel is composed of 99.8% air and is chemically similar to ordinary glass. Being the world’s lightest known solid, it weighs only three times that of air. When handled, Aerogel feels like a very light, hard foam. Being chemically similar to glass, it also happens to shatter like glass, yet is incredibly strong structurally, and can support thousands of times its own weight. Theoretically, a block weighing less than a pound could support a weight of half a ton.<br/> Aerogel’s true strength is its incredible insulating properties. It negates just about any kind of energy transfer - thermal, electrical or acoustic. A one-inch thick Aerogel window has the same insulation value as 15 panes of glass and trapped air - which means a conventional window would have to be ten-inches thick to equal a one-inch thick Aerogel window.</p>http://irreal.tumblr.com/post/132688093http://irreal.tumblr.com/post/132688093Mon, 29 Jun 2009 23:59:22 -0400materialaerogel<img src="http://5.media.tumblr.com/dtyDPcp5npbmgf5m9xCm20dOo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://www.capturedlightning.com">Lichtenberg Figures</a> (pronounced Lich’-ten-beark) are fractal-like branching patterns that have been permanently captured within crystal clear acrylic plastic. They were created by carefully trapping and discharging millions of volts of electrical charge inside polished pieces of clear acrylic using an electron beam from a particle accelerator.  The complex, permanent figures are created deep inside when the trapped charge suddenly escapes in a brief, lightning-like discharge. The intense spark discharges create a record of their passage, leaving behind permanent “fossilized” tree-like branching chains of microscopic fractures that reflect light like microscopic mirrors. Lichtenberg Figures combine the technologies of particle beam and dielectric physics with the natural beauty of fractals.</p>http://irreal.tumblr.com/post/132681194http://irreal.tumblr.com/post/132681194Mon, 29 Jun 2009 23:46:43 -0400lightglass