Vantablack is a super black coating developed in 2014 by Surrey NanoSystems, a British company. The materials to which this coating is applied absorb 99.965 percent of light. This makes it the blackest known man-made coating.
Vantablack is a super black coating developed in 2014 by Surrey NanoSystems, a British company. The materials to which this coating is applied absorb 99.965 percent of light. This makes it the blackest known man-made coating.
Vantablack is a combination of the acronym Vanta and the word Black. Vanta stands for Vertically Aligned Nano Tube Array.
Light reaches the human eye by reflecting off an object. This is exactly what makes objects visible. Black is simply the absorption of light so that it cannot reach the eye. Nevertheless, black objects are still visible to the human eye. This is because black objects, coatings or paints are not made entirely of a light-absorbing material.
Vantablack ensures that no light is reflected back. What makes Vantablack so black is the physical property of the material.
Vantablack is made of vertically aligned and densely packed carbon nanotubes. There are about one billion nanotubes in every square centimeter. The nanotube array causes light particles to enter the gaps between the tubes, where they are reflected again and again. The light that is reflected indefinitely inside is eventually converted into heat. The very small amount of reflected light comes from light particles hitting the very tops of the nanotubes.
Vantablack not only absorbs visible light but also ultraviolet and infrared radiation. Even if a powerful laser light is shone on a Vantablack-coated surface, nothing will be seen.
Vantablack looks just like a black velvet surface. If there are other black materials next to it, they appear gray. When vantablack is applied to three-dimensional objects, shadows and highlights will not be visible. Therefore, objects coated with vantablack will have a shapeless and two-dimensional appearance.
Vantablack coating can only be applied under high temperature in a special reactor. Some alternative methods have also been developed for spraying it on the surface in the form of paint.
Vantablack is not available for commercial sale. Licensing is required for its use. Although the price of Vantablack has never really been disclosed, it is known to be a very expensive coating.
Vantablack was originally developed for blackbody calibration systems carried on satellites. Today it is used in applications as diverse as deep space imaging, automotive sensing, optical systems, architecture, art and aesthetics.
