ISRO developed the world’s most lightweight material

Question: Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre is located in which of the following city?
(a) Visakhapatnam
(b) Chennai
(c) Thiruvananthapuram
(d) Bengaluru
Ans (c)
Related facts:

  • ISRO has developed the world’s lightest insulating material called ‘silica aerogel’.
  • Scientists at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, India’s premier rocket lab recently manufactured the world’s lightest material called silica aerogel or ‘blue air.’
  • This material has excellent thermal resistance and can be used for various purposes.
  • It is so light weight that it can be delicately placed on a flower head, ISRO has made the world’s lightest known material, sometimes also called ‘frozen smoke.’
  • The matrix of aerogel is made up of 99 per cent air. The material is still very fragile and brittle and scientists at the space centre are still finding ways to make it tough and resilient.
  • Since it is lightweight, it could also be used in designing the space suits that future Indian astronauts may be wearing.
  • There are other societal benefits of using the ‘silica aerogel’, if window panes are given a coating of this new material, light would easily pass but heat would be contained, says Naga Priya, a scientist who is part of the team that made this material.

Reference:
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-in-school/saving-the-soldiers-from-extreme-weather/article8430273.ece
http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/isros-new-light-as-air-gel-can-keep-indian-soldiers-warm-in-siachen-snow-1397777