Remember, researchers develop the 'darkest material in the world'

British company Surrey Nanosystems now holds a world record. It turns out that the “darkest material ever” has just been developed by the company. Under the name of Vantablack, the "stone" can only reflect 0.035% light. Such an aspect makes the new component a foreign element to human eyes: because it hardly reflects light, appreciating the details of the object's shape is an impossible task for the eyeball.

For the researchers to come up with this result, carbon nanotubes (which are up to 10, 000 times thinner than a strand of hair) needed to be grouped together - this ingenious set is the system responsible for absorbing light. In an interview with Independent, Ben Jensen, chief technician at Surrey Nanosystems, confirms what our eyes can barely see. “You expect to see all the elevations ... But it's like a black [block], a hole; as if there was nothing there. It's very strange, ”comments the executive.

Precise Equipment Adjustments

But after all, for what purposes can such an element be used? Vantablack, according to Jensen, will enable accurate calibration of instruments such as astronomical cameras, scanning systems and telescopes. Briefly and objectively explaining the concept of engineering behind the object, the researcher simply says that "thinner carbon tubes than strands of hair do not allow light particles to pass through." Virtually undetectable levels of gas emissions, the ability to conduct heat up to 7 times faster than copper and 10 times the tensile strength of steel are other aspects of this curious element.

It is not yet known how much each piece of material should cost. “Very expensive, ” warns the interviewee beforehand. “Many people think that 'black' is the absence of light. And I totally disagree with that, ”says Stephen Westland, professor of color science and technology at the University of Leeds. “If you have never seen a black hole, then you don't know what something that doesn't shed light really is. This new material is as close to 'black' as we can get; almost as similar to a black hole as we can imagine, ”concludes the teacher.

Via TecMundo