Free Republic

Raising crops on Mars is far easier in science fiction than it will be in real life: The Red Planet is an inhospitable world. Among other challenges, subzero temperatures mean water can persist on the surface only as ice, and the planet's atmosphere offers little protection to plants (or people) from the Sun's radiation. Of course, NASA has plans to eventually put humans on Mars, using lessons it will learn from its Artemis lunar explorations. And those humans will need to eat. Being able to produce food on Mars would help reduce the quantity of supplies consuming valuable space and...

The nanotube aerogel can expand and contract up to 1,000 times a second.Science Technology Education Media As light as air, yet stronger than steel and bendier than rubber. A new material made from bundles of carbon nanotubes combines all of these characteristics in a substance that twitches like a bionic man's biceps when a voltage is applied.The 'artificial muscle' is an aerogel — a lightweight, sponge-like material consisting mostly of air — drawn into a long ribbon.Applying a voltage across the width of the ribbon electrically charges the nanotubes that thread through the material. This makes them repel one another,...

In the latest science discovery, the material called aerogel could be the latest miracle to come out of the science industry. Aerogel is one of the world’s lightest solids but take a look at what aerogel is capable of. Scientists say aerogel could be used to protect people from bomb blasts, help humans fly to Mars and even clean up oil! With its amazing abilities, aerogel can withstand a direct blast on 1 Kg of dynamite and and aerogel can provide protection from heat at temperatures as high as 1,300 C. Mercouri Kanatzidis, a chemistry professor at Northwestern University in...

A MIRACLE material for the 21st century could protect your home against bomb blasts, mop up oil spillages and even help man to fly to Mars. Aerogel, one of the world’s lightest solids, can withstand a direct blast of 1kg of dynamite and protect against heat from a blowtorch at more than 1,300C.