>
Special Christmas Eve War Room! FBI Finds Millions More Epstein Docs, PLUS…Updates on Trump's...
The U.S. Government Is Not the Daddy of U.S. Oil Companies
Aussie Leaders Crush Online Free Speech To Prop Up Failing Multiculturalism
Cocaine Dogs & 'Safe Space Ambassadors': Rand Paul Airs The Festivus (Budget) Grievances
Travel gadget promises to dry and iron your clothes – totally hands-free
Perfect Aircrete, Kitchen Ingredients.
Futuristic pixel-raising display lets you feel what's onscreen
Cutting-Edge Facility Generates Pure Water and Hydrogen Fuel from Seawater for Mere Pennies
This tiny dev board is packed with features for ambitious makers
Scientists Discover Gel to Regrow Tooth Enamel
Vitamin C and Dandelion Root Killing Cancer Cells -- as Former CDC Director Calls for COVID-19...
Galactic Brain: US firm plans space-based data centers, power grid to challenge China
A microbial cleanup for glyphosate just earned a patent. Here's why that matters
Japan Breaks Internet Speed Record with 5 Million Times Faster Data Transfer

A cubic centimeter of the graphene aerogel weighs just 0.16 milligrams — or, if you're having a problem conceptualizing that, a cubic meter weighs just 160 grams (5.6 ounces). The graphene aerogel is so light that an cube inch of the stuff can be balanced on a blade of grass, the stamen of a flower, or the fluffy seed head of a dandelion (see pictures below).
Most aerogels are produced using a sol-gel process, where a gel is dehydrated until only the aerogel remains. Some aerogels are also produced using the template method — aerographite, for example, is created by growing carbon on a lattice (template) of zinc oxide crystals — and then the zinc oxide is removed in an oven, leaving just the carbon aerogel. To create the graphene aerogel, however, researchers at Zhejiang University use a novel freeze-drying method. Basically, it seems like the researchers create a solution of graphene and carbon nanotubes, pour it into a mold, and then freeze dry it. Freeze drying dehydrates the solution, leaving single-atom-thick layers of graphene, supported by carbon nanotubes. The researchers say that there's no limit to the size of the container: You could make a mini graphene aerogel using this process, or a meter-cubed aerogel if you wish.