Résumé
Aerogels offer an exceptional association of interesting structural peculiarities and physical properties: large nanoporosity, huge internal surface, very low sound velocity, high thermal resistance, excellent optical transparency can be obtained on the same sample. A better understanding of these properties is directly related to progresses in the knowledge of the structure and dynamics of aerogels, which are reviewed in this paper. The peculiar properties of aerogels opened recently the way to interesting developments, which are also discussed.