Scientists Created The Darkest Material On Earth

This material captures 99.9% of the light that hits it, Vantablack is taking the world by storm but there is more to this material than meets the eye. Watch this video and find out!Show more

Have you ever heard of Vantablack? Probably not, but it is becoming increasing popular in the scientific world and it is a matter of a material that is used for coating things. It is chemical substance that is made using vertically aligned carbon nanotube arrays. This is considered to be the darkest material on Earth.

It actually captures 99.9% of the light that hits it and because of this it easily masks its shape and formation! It appears as a pitch black and the VANTA in its name actually stands for vertically aligned nanotube arrays. It is currently trademarked by Surrey Nanosystems and it can be used to keep light from reflecting so it can be useful for telescopes. You can see why it is currently a hot commodity, as there are a ton of uses for it!

Ben Jensen, founder and CTO of Surrey Nanosystems, talks a bit about the making and use of Vantablack. It is particularly useful for the space, the automotive industry, the different electronics, etc. This material is basically pitch black, and that is a little bit disturbing. Think of going into a windowless room at night and turning off all the lights. It is so dark that it appears as a mask from one angle, but it looks like a black plane as well! This is one very fascinating technology!

Keep watching the video as it describes the process of creating the Vantablack. It involves three big machine chambers, one where they put the substances, the second for the catalyst used for growing the Vantablack, and the third is where the Vantablack actually grows! Seems like a lot of components for this material! Jensen was originally working at the University of Surrey where he was working with nanotube synthesis equipment. They eventually developed an equipment that allowed them to make the Vantablack, which is the current world record holder for being the blackest material ever created!

They actually coated an entire building in South Korea in preparation for the 2018 Winter Olympics! The building looks very strange and is looks like a big black square sort of like a cube cut from space and inserted into the city of PyeongChang! The architect behind this, Asif Khan, wanted it to look like looking into space. They even studded the building with little lights appearing as stars in the deep space! It is definitely very creative and imaginative!

If you get close enough, you would be staring into the dark walls without seeing the sky behind it or the streets to the side. This is Khan’s goal of keeping viewers immersed in the matter! Aside from capturing the light, this Vantablack actually repels water as well. It comes in a spray paint form, therefore, you can apply this pitch-black substance to almost anything with ease!

Aside from the spray paint version it can be applied directly with the vacuum deposition technology. This is a very impressive material and it has been shown to have multiple uses. From being used in technology to finding its way up in space or down in cars, to even having a use in art and architecture. This material is bound to grow even more popular!