Description of absolutely black paint and what is the name of the darkest color in the world
Objects that we call black cannot be so called scientifically, because a certain percentage of the radiation incident on them is reflected. The blackest paint in the world should be considered the one that absorbs 100% of light rays. This paint was created by British scientists from Surrey NanoSystems. The resulting substance reflects only 0.04% of the incident light, and it seems to the viewer that he is not seeing a three-dimensional object, but a huge void like a black hole.
Which paint is the blackest
The creators of Surrey NanoSystems called their brainchild Vantablack. The first part of the name "vanta" is an abbreviation of the English expression "arrays de nanotubes vertically aligned" - that is to say "arrays of nanotubes aligned vertically".
Vantablack cannot be called paint in the classic sense. It is not a pigment, but a substance composed of a large number of nanotubes, not intended for painting. It is incorrect to call a substance even black. Colors are recognized by the human eye when light rays are reflected from a painted surface, and Vantablack almost completely absorbs light, so it's more correct to call it lack of color.
Vantablack is listed in the Guinness Book as the darkest substance on the planet.There are no natural analogues, even the darkest coal rocks reflect 4% of light.
If a laser beam is directed at a surface painted with nano-paint, it will disappear, as if it had been absorbed. Objects painted with the blackest paint are perceived by the visual organs as two-dimensional.
The darkest material surpasses steel in strength, its thermal conductivity is better than copper. But the structure with high mechanical resistance does not make the paint resistant to intense mechanical stresses: constant shocks and friction.
How it's done and how it works
The black ink is a vertically directed nanotube grown on aluminum plates. To create Vantablack, catalytic particles with a diameter of less than two nanometers are used which, saturated with gas, are transformed into carbon tubes. 1cm2 more than a billion pipes are concentrated.
Culture on aluminum is carried out at a temperature of 400°C. In comparison, NASA created the intense black dye at 750°C. The structure of a substance is characterized by uniformity. The tubes are not too far apart, but they are also not close to each other. Photons falling on the surface end up in the depressions between the nanotubes and are absorbed and converted into heat. It can be compared to how sunlight, falling on a dense forest, is lost between densely spaced tree trunks.
Vantablack comes in two flavors:
- for vacuum spray surface coating;
- spray for spraying Vantablack S-VIS.
Vantablack Black can be used on a wide variety of materials. It has been used on:
- aluminum plates, aluminum oxide and nitride;
- plastic aluminum alloys 6000 (with the addition of silicon and magnesium);
- high-strength aluminum alloys 7000 (with the addition of magnesium and zinc);
- Stainless steel;
- base cobalt, copper, nickel, molybdenum;
- minerals - sapphire and quartz;
- silicon dioxide;
- titanium nitride.
Classic Vantablack paint can be applied to materials with a melting point of 450°C. The spray version of Vantablack S-VIS is suitable for materials that melt at temperatures above 100°C.
The blackest paint was not made for civilian industry. Initial purpose - use in military and astronomical installations. Vantablack prevents the scattering of light beams in telescopes, can be used to calibrate terrestrial and orbital cameras operating in infrared mode, to protect astronauts and spacecraft from solar radiation.
The most interesting and promising direction of use is the creation of telescopes that see exoplanets. This technique absorbs starlight, making it difficult to detect planets.
By using paint, you can create coatings that protect against sudden temperature fluctuations, thereby increasing heat absorption. As an element of thermal protection, the substance is applicable in the creation of micro-assemblies and parts of electromechanical products. In the military industry, black paint can be useful for thermal camouflage coating of aircraft, for the construction of secret facilities.
The product, created by Surrey NanoSystems, has attracted interest from manufacturers of smartphones, luxury watches and car dashboards.The paint is used in the production of sensor laser devices for manual and autonomous vehicles. Increasingly, Vantablack black paint is used in civilian industry, although production is still experimental, not for general consumption.
So, we have already tried to make clothes from black paint. Due to the peculiarities of the structure of textile fabrics, the percentage of light absorption is lower, however, even on very wrinkled clothes, no creases are visible.
The blackest building was erected in 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea for the Winter Olympics. British architect Asif Khan called the pavilion created 10m high and 35m wide with 4 curved walls "Cosmic Split". The walls are dotted with lights that create the effect of a starry sky.
The only car covered in Vantablack S-VIS is the BMW X6. The reflectivity of the coating is 1%, so the car does not look completely two-dimensional. In the winter of 2020, the Swiss company H. Moser & Cie presented a luxury watch with a black dial covered with Vantablack. Their cost is 75 thousand dollars.
The story of the emergence of super black
Vantablack paint was presented by specialists from Surrey NanoSystems and British physicists in 2014. Together they created a substance in which 99.96% of light rays of the visible spectrum disappear, as well as radio and microwave emissions .
The invention immediately interested not only specialists in the military and space industries, but also craftsmen. Thus, the famous sculptor Anish Kapoor, who became interested in paint as a material for art installations, agreed with a manufacturing company to grant the exclusive right to use the black material produced in the form of a spray.
Kapoor's insolence caused the indignation of many famous art masters. One of the outraged was British artist Stuart Sample. The act of revenge was not long in coming: the artist created his own line of super dyes for general consumption. Anyone can buy them except Kapoor and his subordinates.
Is it possible to buy it
Vantablack can only be purchased in the UK, only by a legal entity. Paint's customers are museums and institutions of higher education that need equipment for demonstration purposes, research and industrial companies. Surrey NanoSystems staff carefully select the customer they are considering entering into a contract with.
Known analogues
Stuart Sample, angry with Kapoor, released a whole range of unique dyes for general consumption:
- BLACK 2.0 - perfect black;
- PINK - super pink
- Glittery Glitter - super shiny
- Phaze and Shift - which change hue based on temperature.
BLACK 2.0 is an excellent development curated by Stuart Sample. The paint surpasses Vantablack in terms of light absorption, it is considered its advanced analogue, available to any buyer.
The sample did not occupy a leading position in the implementation of the blackest paint for a short time. The Massachusetts NanoLab has created a black dye called Singularity Black. Light absorption is nearly 100%, so painted objects appear completely two-dimensional. The first to use paint was the sculptor Jason Chase, who created the composition "Black Iron Ursa". The product is available to any buyer, for 20 ml the manufacturer only asks $50.