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aerogel

[ air-uh-jel ]

noun

, Chemistry.
  1. a gel formed by the dispersion of air in a solidified matrix; a solid foam, as Styrofoam.


aerogel

/ ˈɛərəˌdʒɛl /

noun

  1. a colloid that has a continuous solid phase containing dispersed gas
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word History and Origins

Origin of aerogel1

First recorded in 1920–25; aero- + gel
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Example Sentences

The team says their tool can also be expanded to meet other applications in aerogel design -- such as green technologies used in oil spill cleanup, sustainable energy storage, and thermal energy products like insulating windows.

Led by Po-Yen Chen, assistant professor in UMD's Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, the accelerated method to create aerogel materials used in wearable heating applications -- published June 1 in the journal Nature Communications- could automate design processes for new materials.

But despite their seemingly simplistic nature, the aerogel assembly line is complex; researchers rely on time-intensive experiments and experience-based approaches to explore a vast design space and design the materials.

Looking ahead, Chen's group will conduct studies to understand the microstructures responsible for aerogel flexibility and strength properties.

The aerogel, with a thickness of about 3 millimetres -- roughly the width of 40 strands of human hair -- demonstrated an impressive performance of absorbing 99.99 per cent of EMW energy.

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