Where can I purchase a small sphere of aerogel like pic related? Carbon or Silica is fine.
Also, I'm curious about its properties irl, since I've never handled it and I would like to keep it and handle it frequently.
>How cleanable is it?
>How elastic/firm is it? I've read that carbon is pretty elastic. What about silica?
>How light is silica aerogel? Apparently carbon is insanely light and won't deform flowers it sits on, but I can't find images of silica on anything but people's hands.
>>7983095
You can buy plates of it, but a sphere is not something that they would make since it makes no useful sense.
>>7983111
What good are little cylinders? They're basically all just curiosities and specimens for ogling.
>>7983111
Also, I got this image from someone that was selling them on Amazon, but is out of them. So someone made some.
http://www.buyaerogel.com/
>>7983188
I've already spoken with them. A sphere would have to be a custom order (who knows if they'll do it or not?). They're supposed to get back with me about it.
>>7983095
>google aerogel
>one of the very first links is selling exactly this
do you have any problem solving skills at all?
http://www.teachersource.com/product/aerogel/density?gclid=CPj8tO6s-ssCFQNkhgodLgIBqg
>>7983095
>How cleanable is it?
It absorbs water and breaks down, im guessing its hard to clean. There are treated aerogels that are hydrophobic, that might help keeping it clean.
>How elastic/firm is it?
Its pretty brittle, imagine a block of dried sand or dirt, only a bit less brittle.
>>7983223
This is not a sphere. Do you a have basic understanding of geometry?
>>7983242
>It absorbs water and breaks down
It does?
>There are treated aerogels that are hydrophobic, that might help keeping it clean.
That's why I was leaning in the direction of the hydrophobic from buyaerogel. I've never heard that aerogel breaks down when it absorbs liquids.
>Its pretty brittle, imagine a block of dried sand or dirt, only a bit less brittle.
So is it only the carbon aerogel that's elastic?
>>7983095
Who are you quoting?
>> sphere
You'd have to get one custom made, the fuck do you want a sphere
>>7983267
Yah aerogel breaks down when it absorbs water becoming regular gel. Aerogel is made by carefully drying out a gel so that the original structure remains intact, typically with supercritical CO2.
>> Elastic
Nah m8, pretty much all aerogel is not elastic, either it crushes to nothing or it fractures
Yes carbon nanotube aerogel is somewhat elastic:
http://www.aerogel.org/?p=1878
But you can't buy that. Maybe you could make it yourself if you bought some expensive lab equipment and got some free carbon nanotube samples
>>7983446
>You'd have to get one custom made, the fuck do you want a sphere
What's it to you?
>somewhat elastic
From what I've read carbon aerogel is extremely elastic.
>But you can't buy that.
There's some form of carbon aerogel I can buy.
http://www.buyaerogel.com/product/carbon-aerogel/
Considering the fact they're electrically conductive, I'd say that's your man.
I wonder how durable the hydrophobic-coated silica aerogel is.
So are basically all aerogels likely to disintegrate if exposed to moisture unless coated? What about RF aerogels?
>>7983242
>It absorbs water and breaks down
Aerographene doesn't - instead it absorbs hydrocarbons.
>Its pretty brittle, imagine a block of dried sand or dirt, only a bit less brittle
Aerographene retains it's strength over many, many cycles. Graphene in general has a reputation for durability, in spite of it's brittleness.
>>7983488
Aerographene lacks that flaw, but will absorb hydrocarbons. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are stable, with a high melting point, and also denser than water - to be honest, the lightness of aerographene is a problem; it would blow away in the wind. PAH's would weigh it down, increasing the mass of 1m3 of aerographene from 160g to 144kg.
