MaterialDistrict

A bag made of 99 per cent air

During Paris Fashion Week, fashion brand Coperni debutied a bag made of silica aerogel made by NASA, a material that consists of 99 per cent air.

Silica aerogel is the lightest material on earth and is often used by NASA to capture stardust. While the material is delicate, it is non-fragile. It can withstand extreme heat (up to 1200 degrees Celsius) and a pressure of 4000 times its weight.

Called the Air Swipe bag, the semi-transparent purse consists of mostly air and 1 per cent glass. In total, it weighs only 33 grams, similar to the weight of a lightbulb, and measures 27 by 16 by 6 centimetres. The bag is said to be the largest object ever made from this material.

If you wonder if this bag is even practical, it is said it can support an iPhone 15 Max, a device weighing in at 221 grams, which shows the bag’s pretty impressive strength-to-weight ratio.

Photos: Coperni

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