Friday has arrived, and the weekly "A Taste of Physics" corner is back — episode 19.
This time: carbon nanotubes and the world's blackest black.
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A black color is produced when a material absorbs all wavelengths of visible light that strike it. The broader the range of wavelengths a material absorbs across the spectrum, the blacker it appears.
In 2014, the company Surrey NanoSystems announced Vantablack, the blackest color in the world.
It is so black that 99.965% of visible light waves that hit it are absorbed.
The original color was created through a complex chemical process, but in improved versions it is produced as a sprayable coating.
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How does it work?
The material is composed of carbon nanotubes. These tubes are 100,000 times thinner than a human hair.
The tubes are formed when carbon atoms bond together in hexagonal arrangements, creating a cylindrical shape.
When light waves enter the tubes, they repeatedly strike the tube walls until their energy is converted into heat and dissipates. This produces the effect of almost total non-reflection of light.
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The color has applications in the space industry and telescope manufacturing, where it is used to absorb reflections that could contaminate the image captured by the lens.
In 2019, BMW unveiled a concept X6 model painted entirely in Vantablack. The model generated considerable interest but never went into commercial production.
The color also sparked controversy in the art world, when an artist named Anish Kapoor acquired exclusive rights to use it in his work. In response, artists outraged by what they saw as an infringement on artistic freedom collaborated with a competing company to create a color using similar technology, called "Singularity Black."
Have a wonderful and blessed month 🫶
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