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Weird Science

One of my favorite pastimes is wandering the internet wastelands looking for weird bits of science & culture that pop up to see if there is something that I could modify for use in my stories. One of my all-time […]
on Aug 27, 2010 · Off

One of my favorite pastimes is wandering the internet wastelands looking for weird bits of science & culture that pop up to see if there is something that I could modify for use in my stories.

One of my all-time favorite discoveries was from some years ago, Aerogel. An extremely heat resistant substance that has been around since the 1930s. It sparked an idea for how that might be a very interesting substance for a dragonslayer to use in his armor, if he were friends with the right sort of alchemist who could make an aerogel like substance that was flexible & not as brittle. 🙂 

Have you ever stumbled across any weird & wacky science or social fact that inspired you to think… what if?

Aerogel explained

Stuart Vaughn Stockton is the author of the award winning science fiction novel, Starfire. His exploration into world creation began in Jr. High, when he drew a dinosaur riding a pogo-stick. From there characters, creatures and languages blossomed into the worlds of Galactic Lore, the mythos in which Starfire is set. He lives in the beautiful town of Colorado Springs with his wife and fellow author, Tiffany Amber Stockton. Together they have two incredible children who bring new adventures every day.
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  1. Heather says:
    August 27, 2010 at 3:05 pm

    Sounds cool!

  2. David Seven says:
    August 27, 2010 at 4:53 pm

    Truth is stranger than fiction.

  3. Ken Rolph says:
    August 28, 2010 at 3:49 am

    Doesn’t Aerogel collapse into lumps if it gets wet? So our hero might become vulnerable if someone threw a bucket of water over him.

    Isn’t Aerogel what they’ve been using in space missions to capture small particles from comets and asteroids?

    • E. Stephen Burnett says:
      August 28, 2010 at 8:35 am

      Yes, it says in the video that it’s been used for outer-space particle collection. …

      They did not, however, admit if it becomes useless when wet!

      • Ken Rolph says:
        August 31, 2010 at 7:00 am

        I didn’t watch any videos. Aerogel has been on the news in Australia recently because of the arrival of a Japanese probe back from the asteriod belt.