The second in a two-part series focused on the actual process, that is, the art, of making silica aerogels. This second episode covers how to prepare gels for supercritical drying and how to do supercritical drying with carbon dioxide, with a focus on using the supercritical dryer design presented under the Make section on Aerogel.org.

Prof. Nicholas Leventis discusses the discoveries of ultrastrong x-aerogels and metal aerogels, how they’re made, and their unique properties.

Prof. Stephanie Brock discusses the exciting world of aerogels made from quantum dots, how these strange new materials could revolutionize solar cells, catalysts, and production of hydrogen from water and sunlight, the value of coming to science from a different perspective, and the importance of working outside “the box”.

The first in a two-part series focused on the actual process, that is, the art, of making silica aerogels. This first episode covers everything up until supercritical drying.

Dr. Alex Gash from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory talks about colorful transition metal oxide aerogels and explosive aerogels made through epoxide-assisted gelation.

Alex Capecelatro, a senior at UCLA, talks about how researching aerogels as a high school student and working with some of the world’s top aerogel scientists has inspired him to pursue science and business.

From the origins of the solar system to lessons on making extraordinary things possible, Dr. Tsou tells us the story of Stardust.

Aerogel.org co-founders Stephen Steiner and Will Walker discuss open source aerogel, Aerogel.org, and what’s coming up on The Critical Point.