Carbon aerogel `world`s lightest material` created

Washington: A team of scientists in China has produced the lightest material ever made.
Zhejiang University in China announced in a statement that the ultra-light substance, called carbon aerogel, has a density of 0.16 milligrams per cubic centimetre, CBS News reported.

The substance, which is made of granite and carbon nanotubes, can absorb up to 900 times its own body weight.

" Carbon aerogel is similar to carbon sponge in structure," professor Gao Chao, who headed the team of scientists , said in the statement.

"When an aerogel of the size of a mug is put on Setaria, the slender grass will not bend," Chao said.

Chao added that the aerogel could also provide solutions to problems such as pollution control and cleaning up oil spills.

ANI