Principal Researcher: Dr. David Noever, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
Objectives: This STS-95 experiment will produce Aerogel - a low-density, open-pore foam - in the weightless environment of space. Aerogel transmits light, insulates against sound and electricity, and is only slightly heavier than air. Normally hazy, Aerogel can be made transparent by decreasing the size of its pores, a procedure that presently can be achieved only in space. Previous microgravity experiments showed an almost 50 percent reduction in pore size compared to ground experiments - resulting in greater transparency and electrical resistance. Many commercial applications - including sound and temperature insulating windows - depend on transparency. Aerogel's electrical resistance is similar to that of air, making it the least conductive substance of any known solid. Its resistance to electricity may be the key to faster computer processors by preventing signal crossover common in today's computer chips. The goal of the research on STS-95
is to learn about the effects of gravity on aerogel production, so that pore size can be controlled and a clear Aerogel produced.
Description: Two solutions, one water and one silicon-ethanol, are carried in a double-barreled syringe. Once in microgravity, the two solutions will be mixed like a two-part epoxy, and form a jelly-like mass. To make Aerogel upon return to Earth, this gel must be dried without allowing its pores to collapse. Drying will be performed by soaking the gel in liquid carbon dioxide and then evaporating the carbon dioxide at high pressure. The entire process will be studied in order to produce transparent Aerogel under gravity conditions.
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