In the words of the iconic, now-beleaguered Wesley Snipes, "always bet on black:" Scientists at Rice University have created the darkest substance known to man thus far. Pulickel M. Ajayan and his team of engineers created a carpet of carbon nanotubes that reflects only 0.045 percent of all light shined on it. It's four times darker than the former darkest substance, and its over 100 times darker than the black paint job on my Yugo.
Pure carbon is one of the darkest substances in the world, but Ajayan and team added a rough forest of nanotubes standing on end to further scatter light. Each nanotube is less than one-hundredth of an inch long.
Ajayan and crew have applied to be included in the Guinness Book of World Records. But beyond pure darkness, the substance could have some practical applications:
As it absorbs nearly all light, Ajayan said it could be useful in the collection and storage of solar energy.
Also, as it minimizes the scatter of stray light, it could improve optical instruments such as telescopes.
When I heard "darkest substance on earth," I was sure they meant "dark" as in "evil." Guess I'll just have to settle for having the darkest cloak of any mage in my LARP group.
A dark discovery — no, really, this stuff is dark (Houston Chronicle)
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