Flamethrower vs Aerogel

Pyrogel XTE is a one-centimeter thick fiberglass blanket infused with aerogel, manufactured by Aspen Aerogel, designed to test extreme heat resistance.

• Made from silica aerogel, the same base material as sand or glass • Possesses a sponge-like nanoscale structure with tiny pores measuring tens of nanometers • Can be up to 99.8% air, yet provides superior thermal insulation

• Hot air struggles to diffuse through the tiny pores • Nanoscale structure itself is a poor heat conductor • Iron oxide component makes it opaque to infrared radiation

Aerogel particles are embedded in composite materials like blankets because pure aerogel is too fragile for most practical uses.

A flamethrower from the Boring Company was used to test thermal resistance against a super-sized chocolate bar, with a FLIR thermal camera (T1020 model) capable of recording up to 2,000 degrees Celsius.

• Within seconds, chocolate temperature reaches hundreds of degrees Celsius • Around 30 seconds, the chocolate structure begins to collapse • After flamethrower is removed, parts remain well over 600 degrees Celsius

The chocolate demonstrates rapid thermal degradation and structural failure when exposed to direct flamethrower flames.

This serves as a baseline comparison to demonstrate what typical materials experience when exposed to extreme heat before testing aerogel.

A flamethrower was fired at full bore on one side of the one-centimeter aerogel blanket with a hand placed on the back side to measure heat transfer.

• Flamethrower side: over 660 degrees Celsius • Back side where hand is placed: approximately 50 degrees Celsius • Temperature ratio demonstrates extreme insulation efficiency

Despite extreme heat on the opposite side, the person holding their hand against the blanket barely feels any heat and can even touch the surface.

When using the extended thermal camera range, the blanket back side shows only around 50 degrees Celsius, and hand contact leaves visible thermal handprints on the surface.

A hot plate set to 150 degrees Celsius had a metal plate on top covered with one millimeter of Airloy aerogel coating, leaving one small corner uncovered for comparison.

• Coated area: approximately 127 degrees Celsius • Uncoated area: approximately 180 degrees Celsius • Despite higher temperatures on uncoated surface, coated area remains touchable

The aerogel coating prevents rapid energy transfer to the hand, making a surface hotter than boiling water feel merely warm rather than burning.

Aerogel's low thermal conductivity creates 'safe touch' surfaces where you can hold your hand on something hot enough to boil water for extended periods without burning.

• Effective insulation for liquefied natural gas plants • Used by NASA for liquid helium applications • Prevents ice falls on uninsulated cold pipes

Cryo gel remains flexible when submerged in liquid nitrogen, which is essential for materials needing to function at ultra-cold temperatures.

Ski jackets featuring special aerogel-lined pockets keep cell phones warmer in cold weather, preventing device freezing while maintaining pocketability.

Aerogel revolutionized subsea oil pipeline insulation by enabling pipe diameter reduction by three times compared to polyurethane foam, allowing approximately 250 ships worldwide to lay pipes that were previously too heavy, saving billions of dollars and relieving years-long backlogs.

To obtain necessary footage, the flamethrower trigger was pulled for 50 to 100 seconds at a time, far exceeding the manufacturer's recommended maximum of 7 seconds per use.

• Extended use caused internal components to break down • Flamethrower performance progressively deteriorated during filming • By end of shoot, trigger could not be pulled at all

The flamethrower was damaged and ceased functioning while the aerogel blanket remained intact and functional throughout all testing.

In the battle of flamethrower versus aerogel, aerogel definitively won.