Vantablack is the new black

Surrey NanoSystems, a spin-out of Surrey University’s Advanced Technology Institute, has developed a new material so black it absorbs all but 0.035% of visual light. The material, dubbed Vantablack, thereby sets a new world record.

The material is made out of coating that consists of carbon nanotubes. Each of these nanotubes is roughly 10,000 times smaller than a human hair. Vantablack is so dark that the human eye fails to comprehend it and the brain is unable to process the information. Contours and shapes are both lost making an onlooker feel as if they are staring into an abyss.

The coating works by using nanotubes that are so small that light particles cannot enter them. The particles can get into the gaps between the nanotubes, however they bounce around until all but 0.035% of visible light is absorbed.

Potential applications for the new material range from calibrating astronomical cameras, telescopes and infrared scanning systems more precisely to military uses which the company is unable to disclose.

Stephen Westland, professor of colour science and technology at Leeds University, said: “Many people think black is the absence of light. I totally disagree with that. Unless you are looking at a black hole, nobody has actually seen something which has no light. These new materials, they are pretty much as black as we can get, almost as close to a black hole as we could imagine.”