Darkest material ever

Science
Darkest material ever

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I’d like a coat made out of this stuff, but that’s just me…

In the iconic movie This is Spinal Tap, lead guitarist Nigel Tufnel said of his band’s black album cover, “It’s like, how much more black could this be? And the answer is none. None more black.” He was wrong. A scientist at Rice University has created the darkest material known to man, a carpet of carbon nanotubes that reflects only 0.045 percent of all light shined upon it. That’s four times darker than the previously darkest known substance…

As it absorbs nearly all light, Ajayan said it could be useful in the collection and storage of solar energy. Also, as it minimizes the scatter of stray light, it could improve optical instruments such as telescopes.

Rice researchers make a dark discovery – Link.

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