ISRO has manufactured a product to make uniforms for the Indian Army soldiers at Siachen and other places with extreme conditions.
The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, has manufactured silica aerogel, also known as ‘Blue Air’, which is the lightest material in the world.
The initiative comes following the pathetic death of Lance Naik Hanumanthappa and many other soldiers who lost their lives at Siachen recently.
Here are some points you must know:
- Silica aerogel or Blue Air has a density of 1,000 gram per cubic metre, which makes it even lighter than air, which weighs 1,200 gram per cubic metre (at 20 degree Celsius, sea level)
- Silica aerogel had 15 Guiness World Records entries as the lowest-density solid and the best insulator till 2011
- Although, it was ousted by aerographite in 2012 and aeroghraphene in 2013, silica aerogel is the lightest material with a commercial value
- 97 percent of the volume of silica aerogel contains air, which makes it extremely light and gives it supreme thermal insulative qualities
- Silica aergel is also known as ‘frozen smoke’ for its lightness
- ISRO has manufactured the product to make uniforms for the Indian Army soldiers at Siachen and other places with extreme conditions
- This product can also be used in rocket engines for insulation.
