World's darkest substance - Vantablack
Identical Busts with Bronze and Vantablack, Science Museum, London.
Courtesy: Surrey NanoSystems
Vantablack is the World's Darkest Substance and it is man-made. It has an overwhelming ability to absorb 99.96% of light directed at it including UV, visible and infrared lights.
Vantablack was patented by Surrey NanoSystems, UK in collaboration with National Physical Laboratory, UK. The name "Vantablack" was also trademarked by Surrey. The term "VANTAs" was also coined during the early development stages at NPL, an acronym for vertically aligned carbon nanotubes arrays.
Vantablack is not a paint, pigment or fabric. Therefore, it can not be bought or use for domestic use. It is a functionalized ‘forest’ of millions upon millions of incredibly small tubes made of carbon called carbon nanotubes.
The nanotubes are "grown" under powerful lamps that bring the surface temperature to 430°C or higher. Each nanotube has a diameter of about 20 nanometers, and are typically from around 14 microns to 50 microns long. A surface area of 1cm2 would contain around a billion nanotubes.
It is either applied (i) directly to surfaces using vacuum or (ii) spraying and post-processing.
Vantablack was described to have no mass, hydrophobic and make structures look like 2D and it's so dark you can see any detail except it's borders.
Ben Jensen, co-founder of Surrey NanoSystems said,
"When you have no light reflected back to the viewer, you see nothing, so your brain paints it as black."
There are lots of other comments about it:
It's like a schism in space.
Vantablack is not a colour, it's the complete absence of colour.
It's like cutting a hole in the air.
It will be like you're looking into the depths of space itself
It is the closest thing to a black hole we will ever experience.
According to Ben Jensen, chief technology officer of Surrey NanoSystems, it was a "major breakthrough by UK industry in the application of nanotechnology to optical instrumentation."
Vantablack was initially developed for Engineering in space as its design help air-borne cameras, telescopes and infrared scanning systems work more efficiently by reducing stray light. It is now used for aesthetic purposes as in jewelries and artistic structures.
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