Researchers report blackest black yet made

US researchers have made the darkest material on Earth. The new substance is so black, it absorbs more than 99.9 percent of light.

Made out of tiny tubes of carbon standing on end, the new material is about 30 times darker than the current standard of blackness by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology.

The leader of the research team at Rice University in Houston, Pulickel Ajayan, said "All the light that goes in is basically absorbed. It is almost pushing the limit of how much light can be absorbed into one material."

The reflective index of the material is 0.045 percent. The reflective index of black paint is 5-10%.

The material can be used in solar energy conversion. It can also be used in infrared detection or astronomical observation .

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