Number 10 (Story #3), November 27, 1990 by Phillip F. Schewe and Ben Stein EXTREMELY LIGHT AEROGELS, sometimes called "solid smoke," can support objects 1600 times their own weight. Lawrence W. Hrubesh (415-423-1691) and other scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Lab have prepared aerogels with densities ranging from three up to 700 times that of air. Made from silica (or in some cases from organic compounds), these materials have extremely porous interiors and may therefore be useful as thermal insulators or as a host for catalysts. (Science News, November 17, 1990.)