Aerogel: See-Through, Strong as Steel & Ligher than Air

Despite its incredibly low density, aerogel is one of the most powerful materials on the planet. It can support thousands of times its own weight, block out intense heat, cold and sound – yet it is 1,000 times less dense than glass, nearly as transparent and is composed of %99.8 air. The lowest-density silica-based aerogels are even lighter than air.

Despite its fragility in certain regards and its incredible lack of density, aerogel has amazing thermal, acoustical and electrical insulation properties as illustrated by the images here. A single one-pound block can also support half a ton of weight. NASA continues to find new space-based applications for this incredible material.

http://dornob.com/aerogel-see-through-strong-as-steel-ligher-than-air/

No railings or risers, just sheets of straight modern glass on other side – but strong enough to support floating wood treads and the weight of people walking up and down them. Load-bearing glass is not new, but using them for residential interior spaces is striking.



Perfect for open loft spaces, building these is best done as part of a larger remodel or new construction project in which the staircases are installed along with other core structural floors and walls. The only downside: you will need to plan on more storage elsewhere, since under-stair storage soluations clearly will not work well with this much transparency.



http://dornob.com/steel-strong-floating-glass-open-tread-staircase-pictures/