Researchers have created a 3D image of a material referred to as "liquid smoke." Aerogel, also known as liquid smoke or "San Francisco fog," is an open-cell polymer with pores smaller than 50 nanometers in diameter.
Aerogel is a form of nanofoam, an engineered material designed for high strengh-to-weight ratio. Such nanofoam structires are also present in the fields of geology, phospholipids, cells, bone structure, polymers and structural materials, wherever lightness and strength are needed.
For the first time, Lawrence Livermore and Lawrence Berkeley scientists have peered into this material and created three-dimensional images to determine its strength and potential new applications.