I am reading about aerogels, but it all is very confusing to me. I understand that it is a material, but what is it supposed to do? Is it to conduct electricity? Or is it just for thermal insulation?
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It’s not supposed to do anything in particular until you try to use it for some purpose. It has been used to capture dust from the tail of a comet (stardust mission).
Silica aerogel won’t conduct electricity, graphite aerogel will.
If you need some material with high insulation and low density, it’s a good option. If you need electrical conductivity, you’re usually using a wire instead.
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