The Blackest Black - made in Sussex
One of the darkest substances known is Vantablack, absorbing up to 99.965% of visible light. It was developed in Britain in 2014, and first displayed at the Farnborough Air Show.
Developed by Surrey NanoSystems in Newhaven, East Sussex, Vantablack is composed of a forest of vertical tubes "grown" on a substrate using a modified chemical vapour deposition process.
When light strikes Vantablack, instead of bouncing off, it becomes trapped and is continually deflected amongst the tubes, eventually becoming absorbed and dissipating into heat.
Being one of the darkest materials, Vantablack has many potential applications, including preventing stray light from entering telescopes, and improving the performance of infrared cameras both on Earth and in space.
Further Reading
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