Fields of application of aerogels (Review)

The properties of silica aerogel and other types of aerogels are described. Basic information about their manufacture processes is presented. The application of aerogels in optics, nuclear physics, low-temperature physics, laser experiments, space investigations, microelectronics, electrical engineering, and acoustics as highly efficient heat insulators and trapping media for the analysis or purification of gas or liquid flows that pass through them is considered.