March 11, 2011 01:25 by Jeremy
Well, it certainly looks like something the future would hold, doesn't it? Aerogel, also known as "frozen smoke" (can that name get any cooler?) is currently one of the world's lightest solids. It contains MWCNT - multi-walled carbon nanotubes, which are so small that thousands of them can fit on just one strand oh human hair.
Aerogel currently has many potential uses, ranging from detecting toxic substances to improving robotic surgery. One of these possible applications even includes something that could affect our daily lives: batteries.
Thanks to carbon nanotubes and the large surface area that they provide, aerogel is capable of storing vast amounts of energy. If used in conjunction with present-day batteries (whether they be lithium, alkaline, or other types), the aerogel could very likely increase the capacity that a single battery can hold.
"This has many potential applications and could really open up new areas to explore that we haven't even imagined yet," says Associate Professor Lei Zhai, who worked on the engineering team for aerogel. Along with Zhai were postdoctoral associate Jianhua Zou; University of Central Florida professores Saiful Khondaker, Sudipta Seal, and Quanfang Chen.
Source: UCF Today