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The WRG Newsletter
ISSN 1530-8847 January 2004

Aerogel & Architecture

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is
no path and leave a trail." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
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It's in the news, but what is it? Alain Maugard, in "A look at the future
in construction", Paris, December 9, 1998, put it simply -
"Aerogel is ... transparent insulation or even electrochrome glass."

If you have read or heard of Aerogel, it may have been in reference to NASA missions
to collect tiny floating space particles; or it's terrific insulating properties and projected
impact upon the design and construction of buildings

The subject of this New Year's Newsletter is sketched in a series of websites - companies
now producing building products with aerogel, definitions, remarkable photos of the
material and its properties, predictions of success, and of course, the link with the NASA
space program. We'll take a brief look at the futuristic, environmentally-friendly material
already being installed in today's architecture. ~ MCW

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Cabot Corporation and GE Plastics Plan To Develop Lexan® Thermoclear®
Sheet with Nanogel Translucent Aerogel News Release November 2003
"According to NASA researchers, aerogels are the "worlds most insulating solid
material....The use of larger panels for significantly improved light diffusion, without
shadows and without the need for sunshades. Reduced energy costs as a result of
significantly improved thermal insulation... Improved comfort due to better sound dampening.
....Superior aesthetic effects when viewed from either the exterior or interior of a building."

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Kalwall
As of November 2003, Kalwall now has available R20 translucent nanogel systems
(scroll to the bottom of the page for several hotlinked articles).

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Aspen Aerogels
Building insulation, skylights/windows, clothing, home appliances, aerospace,
automotive, cryogenics, building - fire proofing materials, etc. Note: The potential
worldwide market for low cost aerogels is projected to be $10 billion a year by 2005
Click here for product information in a downloadable PDF

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The Microstructured Materials Group at Lawrence Berkley Lab
- a group extending solar energy programs using new classes of materials.
Be sure to visit the LBL Aerogel Gallery of Photos
and see this page also Aerogel: Energy-Efficient Material for Buildings
The Thermal Properties of Aerogels - very low thermal conductivity
means high insulating properties for buildings

"The production and use of silica aerogels is environmentally benign. In the
environment, they quickly crush into a fine powder that is essentially identical to
one of the most common substances on Earth, namely, sand...completely
non-toxic and non-flammable."

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THE NEXT BIG THING - Don Young and Kang P. Lee, Aspen Aerogels
Their ultrathin insulation will save timber and energy. Oh, and it could bring in about
$100 million a year. By Paul Hochman, Fortune Magazine

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Inteltex " Solid air" 19/11/2003

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Aerogel - A Little Bit of Almost Nothing  and Collection of Dust Samples
using Aerogel - photos from NASA's JPL

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Aerogel Research at LBL: From the Lab to the Marketplace
Summer 1991 by Jeffery Kahn

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Remember the music from Koyaanisqatsi? Seen the latest movie Winged Migration?
Take some time to look at the photos from both at this website. Luscious.

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Happy New Year!
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The WRG Newsletter (ISSN 1530-8847) is published by The Wallace Research Group.