[13a-N306-1~11] 17.1 Carbon nanotubes & other nanocarbon materials

△ [13a-N306-4] Levitation of ultralight carbon aerogels with lesser than air density

〇Reo Yanagi¹, Ren Takemoto¹, Kenta Ono¹, Tomonaga Ueno¹ (1.Nagoya Univ.)

Keywords:carbon nanotubes, ultralight materials, levitation materials

We demonstrate that ultralight carbon aerogels with skeletal densities lesser than the air density can levitate in air, based on Archimedes' principle, when heated with light. Porous materials, such as aerogels, facilitate the fabrication of materials with density less than that of air. However, their apparent density increases because of the air inside the materials, and therefore, they cannot levitate in air under normal conditions. Ultralight carbon aerogels, fabricated using carbon nanotubes, have excellent light absorption properties and can be quickly heated by a lamp owing to their small heat capacity. In this study, an ultralight carbon aerogel was heated with a halogen lamp and levitated in air by expanding the air inside as well as selectively reducing its density. These findings are expected to be useful for various applications of aerogels, such as in communication and transportation through the sky.