That's how UMR chemist Nicholas Leventis describes his invention: cross-linked aerogels. The extremely lightweight and sturdy composite material is four to five times stronger than material currently used in military armor. This week he was named to Nanotech Briefs list of Nano 50 for his work.

Aerogels are nothing new. They've been around since the 1930s, but they were highly brittle and of little practical use. By chemically bonding -- or cross-linking -- strings of tiny glass particles with polymers like polystyrene, polyurethane and epoxy, Leventis created aerogels that are 100 times more resistant to breakage and totally resistant to moisture.

Leventis sees possible uses in military armor, lightweight thermal insulation, fuel transport systems, tiny, but sturdy, drug-delivery vehicles and lighter, more efficient aircraft and spacecraft frames.

Want to see something cool? These videos show the difference between conventional armor-grade material and a cross-linked areogel when they're hit with an impact that is eight times that of a .45 mm bullet. It's pretty impressive.

First, the conventional material:

Now, here's the aerogel: