Chinese scientists have developed the world’s lightest substance - carbon aerogel - with a density only one sixth of that of the air.
Scientists at Zhejiang University produced the solid material that has a density of only 0.16 mg/cubic centimetre, breaking the previous record of the world’s lightest material held by graphite aerogel.
The graphite aerogel was developed by German scientists last year with a density of 0.18 mg/cubic centimetre.
Aerogel is a material produced with semi-solid gel dried and solvent removed. It appears in a solid state with many internal pores filled with air, and thus it’s of minimal density.
The research team led by Professor Gao Chao freeze-dried solutions of carbon nanotubes and graphene to remove moisture and retain integrity.
The study was published in the journal Advanced Materials .