FW: Scientists Develop Darkest Substance On Earth
2003-02-06 by Tim Atherton
Want those blackest of blacks...? :-)
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Subject: Scientists Develop Darkest Substance On Earth Where Can I Get Some? Scientists develop darkest substance on earth Ananova | February 5th, 2003 British scientists have invented the darkest material on Earth. The super-black coating was developed by researchers at the National Physical Laboratory in London. It could revolutionise optical instruments because it reflects 10 to 20 times less light than the black paint currently used to reduce unwanted reflections. The key to the nickel and phosphorous coating's blackness is that its surface is pitted with microscopic craters. "Super-black" is especially effective at absorbing light which hits it at an angle. With the light source at right angles, the coating reflects less than 0.35%. Black paint reflects about 2.5% - seven times more. One of the early applications might be on star-trackers, navigational aids which help spacecraft stay on course by fixing on pinpricks of light in the heavens. The material could also be used in works of art. NPL says several artists have shown an interest. Nigel Fox, who heads the optics group at NPL, said: "When you look at the black, it is an incredibly beautiful surface. It's like black velvet." --------- To post a response, come back to the forum at http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=004UmA (which is also the place to go if you want to edit your alerts and stop these robotically sent messages) If you are annoyed by this message then just enter the following URL into a browser and you'll disable the alert that generated this mail: http://www.photo.net/bboard/alert-disable?rowid=AAAICAAAMAABYj1ACX