Aerogel Innovation

For years, Aerogel has been a mystical sustainable building material I have heard of, but never quite encountered.  The all knowing wikipedia says it's

"the lowest bulk density of any known porous solid."

As a result, this smoky looking material is an incredibly effective thermal insulator.  It's produced by extracting the liquid portion of a gel and replacing it with a gas.  The process requires tremendous and heat and pressure and has subsequently been extremely expensive to produce.  However, a Swedish company has developed a new process that allows aerogel to be produced at normal temperature and pressure.  In a recent post, Sean McGuire discovered this innovation may reduce pricing by 90 percent.  Find McGuire's full article at Neon Tommy, a site sponsored by the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism.