This new carbon nanotube material is the darkest thing on the planet

[Mitrailleuse]

i can imagine what the army could do with this for night operations...

[TymmVonD]

I could see this being of use in pro grade monitors. This could be the way to finally achieve lifelike color and shadows on screen. This could help reduce light bleed and unwanted reflections inside a display panel.

[The_Strict_Nein]

It looks dangerous. very dangerous.

 

EDIT: for those who may not know why,  this material will make anything 99.96% invisible to radar, night vision, heat vision and the human eye in dark environments. That's a suit, plane, car or boat and weapons virtually undetectable by most modern scanners. 

 

As far as we know it only absorbs light in the visible spectrum. Just because it can absorb visible light doesn't mean it can absorb all light.

 

And before you quote the source as saying all light, give me an example of ONE non-scientific journal article that correctly uses the term visible light.

[mr moose]

As far as we know it only absorbs light in the visible spectrum. Just because it can absorb visible light doesn't mean it can absorb all light.

 

And before you quote the source as saying all light, give me an example of ONE non-scientific journal article that correctly uses the term visible light.

 

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/426276/nano-paint-could-make-airplanes-invisible-to-radar/

 

http://tommytoy.typepad.com/tommy-toy-pbt-consultin/2011/12/a-nanotube-coating-would-allow-a-plane-to-absorb-a-radar-beam-making-it-undetectable-a-new-nanostructured-coating-could-be.html

 

The long straws of pure carbon, each just a few nanometers in diameter, absorb a broad spectrum of light—from radio waves through visible light through the ultraviolet—almost perfectly.

 

 

edit: the later link is the one that explains in best detail, but I'll leave the first link purely for interest. 

[Jumper118]

linus is getting his next lambo in this colour.

[Kingofpants]

It looks like octuple compressed cobblestone.

Congrats to anyone who understood that.

[Umair]

Now to invent something which would reflect as much light... I guess we could call it the "mirror".

 

That would be fascinating.

[FlamingDefibs]

inb4 US Military

[StingBull]

It's like, how much more black this could be? And the answer is... 0.04%. 0.04% more black.

[HerEscutcheon]

Well either your dumb or a troll. 

Irony.

[Randomacts]

Irony.

 

Oh the ivory.

[Soplias]

P-put your dick in it

I laughed more at this than I should have

[Chevaishr]

it has to do something with the energy it absorbs ... my bet is that it would be very very hot in bright places 

[Yummychickenblue]

It looks like octuple compressed cobblestone.

Congrats to anyone who understood that.

I understood and your right. Good luck getting that much cobble though.

[mr moose]

It's like, how much more black this could be? And the answer is... 0.04%. 0.04% more black.

 

Mate, this shit's so black that black sabbath had to change their name to dark grey sabbath

[javelance]

The problem with using something this ridiculously dark for stealth is that it is significantly darker than everything around it, making it effectively visible.

[Nineshadow]

Wait...is it racist calling this...black?

[BloodySinner]

wow that's awesome and dangerous, need a suit covered in it. 

 

First thing that came to my mind. Unsurprisingly, the military will have access to this first.

[BloodySinner]

The problem with using something this ridiculously dark for stealth is that it is significantly darker than everything around it, making it effectively visible.

 

Assuming the setting that you're in has light which would bounce off the surrounding surfaces... Otherwise, anything coated in this material is near invisible in the dark.

[deviant88]

They say if you stare at it long enough you can see its actually a black hole made of dark matter absorbing everything i wouldnt put my hand there if i were you.

[dalekphalm]

It looks dangerous. very dangerous.

 

EDIT: for those who may not know why,  this material will make anything 99.96% invisible to radar, night vision, heat vision and the human eye in dark environments. That's a suit, plane, car or boat and weapons virtually undetectable by most modern scanners. 

Does the article actually specify that it absorbs RADAR emissions at the same efficiency? RADAR works off of radio waves, which while they are part of the electromagnetic spectrum, just like light, they do have distinct characteristics. The article to me says "all light", but that doesn't inherently mean the entire EM spectrum.

 

"Light" is a word that changes it's meaning depending on the application. Light generally refers to "Visible Light", or the section of the EM spectrum that we can actually see. In physics sometimes "light" refers to the entire spectrum, but not always.

 

So I'd be curious about how this interacts with other types of EM radiation. If you're right, then yes this is an incredible breakthrough, both amazing and potentially terrifying. Imagine an ICBM coated with this stuff? Sure you would still be able to track it's upward movements from the heat/energy of the rocket engine, but once that disconnects/shuts off, you could use air-fins to change course, and the missile and warhead would essentially be impossible to stop, except by visual and MANUAL (Example: some dude has to aim at - and then shoot down the warhead) interception.

[LukaP]

Does the article actually specify that it absorbs RADAR emissions at the same efficiency? RADAR works off of radio waves, which while they are part of the electromagnetic spectrum, just like light, they do have distinct characteristics. The article to me says "all light", but that doesn't inherently mean the entire EM spectrum.

 

"Light" is a word that changes it's meaning depending on the application. Light generally refers to "Visible Light", or the section of the EM spectrum that we can actually see. In physics sometimes "light" refers to the entire spectrum, but not always.

 

So I'd be curious about how this interacts with other types of EM radiation. If you're right, then yes this is an incredible breakthrough, both amazing and potentially terrifying. Imagine an ICBM coated with this stuff? Sure you would still be able to track it's upward movements from the heat/energy of the rocket engine, but once that disconnects/shuts off, you could use air-fins to change course, and the missile and warhead would essentially be impossible to stop, except by visual and MANUAL (Example: some dude has to aim at - and then shoot down the warhead) interception.

apparently the article states it absorbes a vast majority of the EMS so yes, that includes radiowaves, IR, UV, xray, and others. the only thing i didnt read was alpha, beta, gamma, delta

[mr moose]

Does the article actually specify that it absorbs RADAR emissions at the same efficiency? RADAR works off of radio waves, which while they are part of the electromagnetic spectrum, just like light, they do have distinct characteristics. The article to me says "all light", but that doesn't inherently mean the entire EM spectrum.

 

"Light" is a word that changes it's meaning depending on the application. Light generally refers to "Visible Light", or the section of the EM spectrum that we can actually see. In physics sometimes "light" refers to the entire spectrum, but not always.

 

So I'd be curious about how this interacts with other types of EM radiation. If you're right, then yes this is an incredible breakthrough, both amazing and potentially terrifying. Imagine an ICBM coated with this stuff? Sure you would still be able to track it's upward movements from the heat/energy of the rocket engine, but once that disconnects/shuts off, you could use air-fins to change course, and the missile and warhead would essentially be impossible to stop, except by visual and MANUAL (Example: some dude has to aim at - and then shoot down the warhead) interception.

 

yes, I linked to a couple of other articles that explain the range of EMR it absorbs a few posts ago, One specifically lists radar. Although none talk about efficiency I can't see them being far of.

[Trik'Stari]

Does the article actually specify that it absorbs RADAR emissions at the same efficiency? RADAR works off of radio waves, which while they are part of the electromagnetic spectrum, just like light, they do have distinct characteristics. The article to me says "all light", but that doesn't inherently mean the entire EM spectrum.

 

"Light" is a word that changes it's meaning depending on the application. Light generally refers to "Visible Light", or the section of the EM spectrum that we can actually see. In physics sometimes "light" refers to the entire spectrum, but not always.

 

So I'd be curious about how this interacts with other types of EM radiation. If you're right, then yes this is an incredible breakthrough, both amazing and potentially terrifying. Imagine an ICBM coated with this stuff? Sure you would still be able to track it's upward movements from the heat/energy of the rocket engine, but once that disconnects/shuts off, you could use air-fins to change course, and the missile and warhead would essentially be impossible to stop, except by visual and MANUAL (Example: some dude has to aim at - and then shoot down the warhead) interception.

I would think that despite the rocket motor having cut out, the ICBM would give off some sort of EM or or heat signature, it would'nt be the exact same temperature as the air around it, so It would still be spottable

 

I would think......and hope

[That Norwegian Guy]

This probably costs £40 billion to make a kilogram of.