Graphene aerogel is the least-dense of the aerogels at 160 grams per cubic meter which is .13 times as dense as air.
A chunk of graphene aerogel resting on a plant thingamajig.
Graphene aerogel is the least-dense of the aerogels at 160 grams per cubic meter which is .13 times as dense as air.
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1.13 times as dense? I think if it were 0.13 times, it'd float away.
Funny, it looks like a big scoop of soil 😉 How did you get this +Dustin Wyatt? Work related?
+Eric Hansen It is also permeable, so while the material is .13 times as dense as air, it is also filled with air when not in a vaccum.  If you could surround it with a non-permeable shell of sufficient lightness, it would float.
The explanation as to why it doesn't float is slightly counter-intuitive, but here's a Google'd attempt at an explanation:
http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/71069/if-aerographite-is-lighter-than-air-why-doesnt-it-float
Thanks!
It's simple:
Air+Aerogel > Air
A cubic meter of it would only weigh a fraction of a pound. Wow.
If you had a structure made of something lighter than air, it wouldn't matter how much air gets between the gaps, it'd still float. (in air)
+Lee Brenton Not true for all structures all the time.
It isn't "made of something lighter than air".Â
It's made of a polymer which is heavier than air, but which is structurally similar to bread.
Squash it and see what happens.
+Dustin Wyatt ok true – a boat and water is a good example for your argument.
I have trouble accepting that it's less dense than air. I think +G.Waleed Kavalec is correct.
Correction:
"structurally similar to bread…"
but on a microscopic scale.
+Lee Brenton It's not the air that is being measured when the density is calculated, it is the material if there was no air in it. If it was made in a room full of helium, it would float once brought out into the air. At least until the helium diffused out and air diffused in. Think of it as a really, really light sponge filled with air, and the sponges actual material being almost insubstantial.