A tricky shot this was

Forehead

Tucson's Pima Air Museum again: I found this 4x4x1-inch piece of silica aerogel, which is the lightest engineering material so far--this piece weighs less than 1 GRAM and is 99.8% air. I think if that air were replaced by helium that this might actually float.

But getting a shot of the eerie bluish "glow" is going to require more practice. Anyway, I wondered how this stuff refracts light and, while the green laser was too overpowering, the much fainter red laser helped show the refractive properties. Aerogel seems to scatter light but has virtually non-reflective surfaces.

Here it is, for what it's worth:

ultravox

Forehead wrote:

Tucson's Pima Air Museum again: I found this 4x4x1-inch piece of silica aerogel, which is the lightest engineering material so far--this piece weighs less than 1 GRAM and is 98.8% air. I think if that air were replaced by helium that this might actually float.

But getting a shot of the eerie bluish "glow" is going to require more practice. Anyway, I wondered how this stuff refracts light and, while the green laser was too overpowering, the much fainter red laser helped show the refractive properties. Aerogel seems to scatter light but has virtually non-reflective surfaces.

Here it is, for what it's worth:

At that volume, I'll bet it float .
Heard abt. aerogel but never had the chance to see one.
Tks.

Forehead

Aerogel purchases
I've seen little--and I mean LITTLE--pieces of aerogel on sale in eBay.

ultravox wrote:

At that volume, I'll bet it float .
Heard abt. aerogel but never had the chance to see one.
Tks.