UK nanotech company Surrey NanoSystems has developed a new material even blacker than its previous version of what it calls Vantablack. While the material has amazing potential for technology applications like cameras, sensors, scientific instruments, and satellite-borne calibration tools, a lot of folks are up in arms about the fact that sculptor Anish Kapoor (who designed Chicago’s Cloud Gate and the Orbit Tower for the 2012 London Olympics) has bought the exclusive rights to use it in art. While we tend to agree that an artist being able to “own a color” just because they’re rich is a basic dick move, what many are missing here is the fact that at present, Vantablack is not actually a “paint”; it requires specialist application to achieve its effect. Kapoor’s exclusive license limits the coating’s use in the field of art, but does not extend to any other sectors.
So How Black Is It?
It’s so black, it doesn’t reflect frickin’ LASERS, okay?
Black Holes Can Be The Pits
The armpits, that is. Strangely, this video is actually more like a promo piece for Lynx Anti-perspirant than Surrey Nanotech:
