Conducting nanocrystals (“nanoconductors”) are metal, semimetal or semiconductor particles with individual sizes s ≈ 10 nm. If allowed to assemble freely, they form black low-density aggregates (“blacks”) with relative volume filling f of a few percent. Matrix-free networks are prepared by evaporation of the bulk material and subsequent particle nucleation and growth in the presence of a high-purity low-pressure noble gas. Each nanoconductor consisting of some 10 4 atoms, Van der Waals coupling between the particles is strongly enhanced making the networks suitable model systems for hypothetical huge molecule Van der Waals gases. For an isotropic charge distribution that is typical of metallic electron densities, the VdW interaction is expected to be particularly genuine in nanoconductors. Owing to the small particle sizes ( s ≈ 10 nm) and filling factors ( f < 0.05), the contacts between the particles are both nanostructures and weak coupling devices. This makes nanoconductors intriguing objects for modern microelectronics whose preparation does not require lithographic methods. The networks can be kept under well-defined conditions: matrix-free in high vacuum or in a gas. Being aerosols, blacks constitute matter in an unusual form: as ill-condensed tenuous structures they can be given almost any shape like a liquid. On the other hand, they may change their mean density like a gas by filling variable volumes under suitable conditions. Moreover, blacks exemplify a class of extremely dilute conductors and electron tunneling systems. Their electrical and thermal conductivities may be manipulated towards very small values by reducing the degree of network aggregation. Previous experiments have shown that the dielectric properties of blacks crucially depend on the spatial distribution of the nanocrystals. We therefore propose to extend the dilution of non-supported blacks beyond the limit of self-aggregation under terrestrial conditions. Microgravity (μg) is a promising tool for studies of reversible aggregation and separation and to establish the properties of blacks in a “phase diagram”. Electromagnetic radiation, sound, and dielectric screening offer themselves to influence the spatial structure of blacks in vacuum or in the presence of a suitable gaseous or liquid matrix. These influences help to establish specific differences in dielectric or elastic behaviour between the aggregated and separated state of blacks and to explore their potential applications e.g. as detectors, sensors, and thermoelectric converters. The comparative studies are expected to yield valuable information on dielectric and elastic properties of the individual nanocrystals and of the Van der Waals-induced aggregates in the regime of low filling factors. The planned experiments cross-link a number of topical fields of basic and applied research such as soft matter, fractal structures, nanoporous materials, tunneling structures, quantum dots, Coulomb blockade effects, ultra-low capacity devices, point contacts, catalysts, effective medium model systems, Anderson dielectrics, and steric stabilization. Moreover, chemically different (including non-metallic) nanocrystal components maybe mixed for applications as quantum dot alloys with more degrees of freedom for the design of hitherto unpredictable properties.