Some Wonders Never Cease

"NASA has developed a high-tech insulator called Aerogel - a solid material that is 99.9 percent air. A translucent concrete, marketed as LiTraCon, was recently developed in Hungary. And last week, Tyco Fire and Security introduced a flame-dousing 'water' called Sapphire. The catch? It doesn't get things wet. Old-time scientific rationality seems to be teetering on the edge of obsolescence.

Since upside-down and inside-out thinking suddenly rule, other recent innovations tremble on the very edge of conceivability."

The New York Times > Week in Review