MIT scientists accidentally create the blackest material ever

guest · Sep 14, 2019

MIT scientists accidentally create the blackest material ever
It absorbs 99.995 percent of light
September 13, 2019
https://www.engadget.com/2019/09/13/mit-scientists-accidentally-create-the-blackest-material-ever/

MIT engineers have cooked up a material that's 10 times blacker than anything else previously reported. Capturing more than 99.995 percent of any incoming light, the material is made of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) grown on chlorine-etched aluminium foil. And it was discovered by accident.

Before MIT developed what it called the "blackest black" material to date, Surrey NanoSystems claimed that title with its original Vantablack low-temperature carbon nanotube discovery. Surrey's material was capable of absorbing 99.96 percent of light, although its scientists claim the company's second generation concept could be even darker than that (even if spectrometers can't apparently measure it)

"Our material is 10 times blacker than anything that's ever been reported, but I think the blackest black is a constantly moving target. Someone will find a blacker material, and eventually we'll understand all the underlying mechanisms, and will be able to properly engineer the ultimate black."
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guest · Sep 14, 2019

BMW X6 Vantablack can't hide from lidar
September 13, 2019
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/bmw-x6-vantablack-paint-color-lidar/

Lidar is what gives self-driving cars the ability to see the world. It uses lasers and ambient light to measure the distance between it and an object. Well, the BMW X6 Vantablack -- a car painted with the darkest black pigment in the world -- can run, but it can't hide from the technology.

It wasn't the lidar's best performance, but it still managed to pick the car up. Typically, the lidar unit can spot things from more than 328 feet away. In this case, the company said the darkest of dark BMWs would need to be about 72 feet away before the lasers and ambient light register the moving black hole.
Even if there were insanely dark cars scattered about, the lidar still picked up highly reflective parts of the car. The headlights, license plate and windshield all gave away the BMW's position.
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