Aerogel

aerogel (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 gl-ss.

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 gl-ss, it also happens to shatter like gl-ss, 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.
due to its microstructure, aerogel is a powerful desiccant, rapidly absorbing any moisture in your fingertips when held. this usually leaves some dry spots on the skin that disappear in a short time.
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 gl-ss and trapped air – which means a conventional window would have to be ten-inches thick to equal a one-inch thick aerogel window.

aerogel’s density is just 3 milligrams per cubic centimeter.
its melting point is 2,200 degrees f (1,200 degrees c).

a large panel of aerogel was most recently used by nasa in the stardust mission, which successfully collected collect comet & interstellar dust samples & returned them to earth.