What’s blacker than black? Well, black, apparently.
Researchers at Rice University in Houston have succeeded in creating the veritable black hole of all color-dom: a material that absorbs 99.9% of all visible light. This penultimate black supersedes the current black, a carbon based substance housed at the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology, and is measured as being 30 times darker.
by: Tiagoribeiro
If this isn’t blowing your mind already, then how these researchers inadvertently flipped the design community for a loop might. The team, led by Pulickel Ajayan, used carbon nano-tubes 400 hundred times smaller than the diameter of a strand of hair and stood them on end, arranging them in a tightly gathered group. Imagine a carpet’s pile, but on an infintessimilly small nano scale.
The tops of the nano tubes are also arranged irregularly in order to cut down on reflectivity. This results in a material that has a total reflective index of 0.045 percent, a far cry from your basic black paint which has a reflective index of 5 percent to 10 percent.
by: The velocity of saul at the time of his conversion
Practical Applications?
The application of this new black extends to fields as diverse at design, astronomy, and solar energy conservation, however if tests with infrared and ultraviolet light prove as successful as those with visible light, the potential application may extend to stealth operations and the defense sector.
Mr. Ajayan has stated in numerous media interviews that this new material could be used to improve optical devices and increase the efficiency of photolytic cells on solar panels, which would be good things; and, unfortunately, there could be some national ‘defense’ applications as well – think stealth bomber, but only stealthier.
While this is inspiring, I’m left wondering when superblack’s going to show up in a paint can. Hopefully we won’t have to wait too long.
The Color Black
Black does not reflect light at any point of the visible spectrum.
Not only is black associated with rock bands, such as the likes of Spinal Tap, but black is also associated with a whole slue of other symbols both positive and negative; negative: black death, bad luck (black cats), black list, blackmail; positive: black is the color of rain clouds, and soil. Krishna means the black one. And being in the black is good for business.
Some Black Color Inspiration
