Aerogel: The material for safety, efficiency and comfort

Aerogel, the space grade material which can be used for extreme temperature applications and even for winter clothes provides highly efficient and versatile thermal insulation for common people to astronauts!

We will be using fiber composite aerogel, which is extremely lightweight and and an excellent thermal insulator in the firefighter's suit and even for soldiers who have to maintain their outpost at extreme temperatures. This sheet of fiber composite aerogel would e extremely flexible and we would manufacture it into thin sheets. Similarly, we will use this in winter clothing and hence the need for bulky winter wear would be eliminated, the same would be for houses. Another and the most important use of aerogel would be in the tech industry. We will directly imply thermal insulation to required areas where a lot of energy for cooling/heating is consumed. By using this a very less amount/ minimal amount of energy would be required to heat/cool the application. 

Due to climate change, there are a lot of variations in temperature. The soldiers who work in extreme environments have to maintain their position even in -50 degrees Celsius and +50 degrees Celsius, Fire fighters have to work in a temperature above 50 degree Celsius. In general, the most affected people are our world's/nations care takers, but we still can't help them with proper facilities. Hence, use of aerogel in their suits would provide an amazing thermal resistance and save some lives. The second problem is that in extreme winters, people have many difficulties either to travel or live in the houses, as the insulation materials are very bulky, Aerogel is very light and consumes less volume because it is highly thermal resistant. Lastly, Aerogel can shape the tech industry by increasing the efficiency of equipment and machines by consuming no power and weighing very less.

Our solution focuses on vast types of professionals and common people. Aerogel is a material that can survive under extreme temperature conditions and is used in many space applications, a significant amount of work is going in Research and development of this material to make it a suitable candidate for many other applications. This technology would save lives when used for soldier's and firefighter suits. Aerogel is used in space suits and is a better insulator than currently used mylar sheets. Aerogel is extremely light and can be used for winter clothes such as jackets, hoodies, etc. Aerogel has wide range of applications in the tech industry where there are specific heating or cooling requirements and can lower climate change, if used on a large scale. Basically, from a common man to an astronaut and other professionals, aerogel will be beneficial for everyone directly or indirectly. Aerogel clothes can even be hydrophobic if needed and aerogel can be used in marine applications too.

When i presented my research on this solution in the IAC dubai conference, I communicated with many scientists and engineers and was encouraged to conduct further research on the same. In order to work this solution in the fashion industry, I literally talked with tailors and local people at shopping malls for their review and it was positive. Lastly, I have sent a proposal regarding this idea to people who are actually are in training as an astronauts and am waiting for their reply and i'm sure that too will be positive.

We achieved the desired results on paper through Geaant4 software(software used at CERN) but are still in he practical stage of developing the material. Once we get help for preparing a proper business model and finances, we will be able to speed up the process and make it into something useful.

Aerogel composed of 99% Air, is very lightweight and an excellent thermal insulator. We will be using aerogel in various applications such as spacesuits, thermal jackets, thermal resistance for machines, firefighter's suits and for building habitats on moon and mars, thermal cups(disposable), reducing evaporation from local water reservoirs, etc. Aerogel is the perfect material for a habitable outpost for moon and mars that offers excellent resistance against UV rays, great thermal insulation which helps in maintaining the temperature inside the outpost despite the extreme temperature variations on mars(20C to -153C) and moon(127C to -173C), all by just one material. Aerogel is a space grade smart material and has many applications on Earth. The solution is to propagate it in every application possible. In space, Protection against the harmful UV and cosmic rays is very necessary for humans to sustain a longer life because these rays have a direct impact on our DNA chain and exposure to these rays longer than the safety limit causes cancer and ultimately leads to premature death, by using aerogel, this risk is negligible. Aerogel in its original form is extremely stiff and brittle, hence, we will be using it with fiber composites. Silica aerogel can also be used in glass windows as it is translucent. Silica aerogel is extremely light and can save up space and money in many applications with an increased efficiency, hence, I plan on commercializing aerogel, as it seems the perfect solution to many problems.

I haven't launched my solution yet, but my solution will serve every person existing on Earth, directly or indirectly. I primarily focus on using this solution for extreme professions such as firefighters, soldiers in extreme environments, workers working in hazardous areas, etc. Next I plan to serve this technology to the common people by introducing it in winter clothes, for fashion, for comfort, etc. I plan on creating local animal shelters for stray animals and birds in extreme environments(dog houses and birdhouses). Lastly, this technology will help everyone indirectly by focusing on every technology that is engineering and research sector(AC, cars, airplanes, marine engineering, etc) I am from space technology background and aerogel is the material we look up to solve many of our problems, i.e. maintaining temperature for thermal systems for space vehicles(rockets, satellites, space stations, etc), spacesuits, habitats, etc.

Heat and cold have transformational impacts on our lives and in some cases, they become unbearable. I plan on saving thousands of lives and improving those millions of lives who are homeless. Soldiers of most countries spend their lives in extreme hot/cold environments and a significant number of them die due to such extreme conditions just because they do not have the right equipment, I intend to change that. For the people who can't afford the bare minimum, aerogel sleeping bags are the solution. If aerogel enters the fashion market, the need for wearing bulky winter clothes get eliminated and it could be a breakthrough in the fashion market. Aerogel could widely be used in industries for man and machines. By the next year, I plan on researching efficient ways to manufacture it and transform it in the right product. Once, the product designs are ready, I will start manufacturing it and by finding the right market, I will launch my products.

First we start from scratch by actually making the product and then list all defects caused by manufacturing it, next is we find the suitable equipment for manufacturing it. We start by getting reviews from people and accordingly design the product in the similar way. We start the manufacturing process and scale up the idea to finally make an impact in people's lives by innovation. By impacting one of the basic needs of providing clothing, we not just serve the population to actually live better, but even reduce climate change by using this technology in machines and reducing the energy required to maintain temperature in many applications. Reduction in consumption of energy for maintaining thermal balance will cause a big change in maintaining the climate change.

The primary challenge we face to accomplish our goals by next year is capital. We neither have the funds to manufacture a single product, nor we have the capital to conduct research for the same. If we get enough capital we can start at the earliest. Next barrier is manpower, We need people to conduct research, look after sales and marketing, Management, etc. we can accomplish this by having capital and propagating the need for this technology in the right way. Due to limited technical research opportunities in my region, it is difficult to find the right platform and peers for research. But as we know, money is the solution to 99% of our problems, we can solve other issues by solving this particular financial issue.

Our team was involved in researching about this technology from a year. Last year, we thought that this technology might be the solution to problems related to space technology and ultimately, problems faced by mankind.  We are a group of engineering students who have presented many research papers in international space conferences and our team consists of researchers, CEO of an educational space company and a scientist astronaut candidate. We have been involved with the industry from 4 years and know the needs of it. Being highly involved in the industry, conferences, seminars, activities for students, special talks, managing a company, we understood the needs/wants of people by communicating with them directly, talking with astronauts, scientists, CEOs, and directors of organizations made our vision even more clear. Managing a technical company and an organization, we learned how to develop ideas into products and it worked.

We partner with educational companies, schools and manufacturing industries to make products for our ideas. We directly are in contact with general public using social media and organizing some events. We propagate latest trends in industry to aspiring students and serve as a link between the common public and industry. We know the importance of small ideas that can turn into life changing innovations. Hence, we give this solution a significance importance and spotlight.

We do not qualify for the HP girls save the world price.

One of the aspects we considered while research was that "Women feel cold more than men". Women have a low metabolism rate compared to men and are not able to produce more heat and hence feel more cold. Besides, in some cases, pregnant women feel even more cold during pregnancy and lastly, during periods some women feel shivers, we even aim to provide this technology in pads to keep them warm, but we need to conduct research on that. The solution focuses on solving all these problems too. As we mentioned earlier, we want to impact as many number of people as we can!