Researchers at Saudi Arabia's KAUST have created the darkest carbon nanotube material to date

[Saif al-Arab]

Scientists create blackest material ever seen
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By James Billington
October 26, 2015 14:47 GMT
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The all-white cyphochilus beetle inspired scientists to create the blackest material ever seenFlickr: Wild Centre
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Ozzy Osbourne might call himself the Prince of Darkness but a team of scientists can lay claim to being the kings after successfully creating the blackest material humans have ever seen, which absorbs almost all light and could help improve solar panel technology.

The researchers at King Abdulla University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia were inspired by an all-white beetle and employed nanoparticles to reach new levels of darkness.

The scales on the cyphochilus beetle form a photonic crystal structure that allow its shell to reflect light with incredible efficiency, so the team took this idea and polarised it to create a material that can suck up approximately 98% to 99% of light directed at it from all angles – 26% more than the previous record holder, which used carbon nanotubes.
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These nanostructures mimic the shell of the beetle to absorb 98-99 percent of light​

The dark knights at the King Abdullah University published their findings in Nature Nanotechnology and revealed to mimic the beetle's shell, they placed one nanoparticle rod sitting atop of a nanoparticle sphere that is just 30 nm in diameter. The result is an uneven surface composed of a pattern of random pits with infinitely long metallic waveguides. The material is so dark, human eyes cannot compute what they are looking at and previous people who have seen such materials describe feeling like they are staring into a bottomless black hole.

The purpose of creating the blackest material possible is to help with solar panel technology efficiency as the blacker the material used, the more light – or energy – can be absorbed. The researchers also claim it could also lead to breakthroughs in fibre optic technology and, as it can be applied to liquid, could help desalination projects.

Scientists create blackest material ever seen
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[somebozo]

Well done KAUST...

 

[Daneshmand]

These are the names of the scientists involved in this project in the Nature article linked above:

• Jianfeng Huang,
• Changxu Liu,
• Yihan Zhu,
• Silvia Masala,
• Erkki Alarousu,
• Yu Han
• Andrea Fratalocchi

Do these names look like Saudi names?

I thought so.

In a country built by foreigners, run by foreigners and protected by foreigners, even the science is a foreigner. From the house maids to scientists, this country needs foreigners to function and to keep its pride.

 

[Saif al-Arab]

These are the names of the scientists involved in this project in the Nature article linked above:

• Jianfeng Huang,
• Changxu Liu,
• Yihan Zhu,
• Silvia Masala,
• Erkki Alarousu,
• Yu Han
• Andrea Fratalocchi

Do these names look like Saudi names?

I thought so.

In a country built by foreigners, run by foreigners and protected by foreigners, even the science is a foreigner. From the house maids to scientists, this country needs foreigners to function and to keep its pride.

Seriously, how old are you? It seems to me that you have just reached puberty.

Where in the article does it say anything about those researchers being Saudi Arabian? Nowhere.

KAUST, an international university and one of the leading ones in the Muslim world, is located in Saudi Arabia though and the same KAUST employs and educates hundreds of Saudi Arabian researchers and scientists on a yearly basis.

International researchers and students are present just like they are present at the world's leading universities from the UK to the US. Without those present and past foreigners none of those universities would be what they are today. I understand that it's different in Iran hence the poor rankings of Iranian universities despite a 80 million big talent pool to pick from.

In regards to your empty and hilarious claims, one can only laugh considering your nationality.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

 

[jammersat]

Didn't that happen 1400 years ago?

 

[Zibago]

These are the names of the scientists involved in this project in the Nature article linked above:

• Jianfeng Huang,
• Changxu Liu,
• Yihan Zhu,
• Silvia Masala,
• Erkki Alarousu,
• Yu Han
• Andrea Fratalocchi

Do these names look like Saudi names?

I thought so.

In a country built by foreigners, run by foreigners and protected by foreigners, even the science is a foreigner. From the house maids to scientists, this country needs foreigners to function and to keep its pride.

Interesting

 

[Maira La]

Seriously, how old are you? It seems to me that you have just reached puberty.

Where in the article does it say anything about those researchers being Saudi Arabian? Nowhere.

KAUST, an international university and one of the leading ones in the Muslim world, is located in Saudi Arabia though and the same KAUST employs and educates hundreds of Saudi Arabian researchers and scientists on a yearly basis.

International researchers and students are present just like they are present at the world's leading universities from the UK to the US. Without those present and past foreigners none of those universities would be what they are today. I understand that it's different in Iran hence the poor rankings of Iranian universities despite a 80 million big talent pool to pick from.

In regards to your empty and hilarious claims, one can only laugh considering your nationality.

Then don't take pride in it. There's no Arab contribution here. The money comes from the countries buying your oil. Let's thank them for supporting these scientific research.

 

[Madali]

Is that the matter? It's like I'm looking at a hole into space. Creepy.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Is that the matter? It's like I'm looking at a hole into space. Creepy.

This page must freak you out then
Pure black test screen

 

[Madali]

This page must freak you out then
Pure black test screen

Nah, that just looks like my PC is switched off. But now imagine my table and chair and car look like that, then it's something else.

 

[Saif al-Arab]

Then don't take pride in it. There's no Arab contribution here. The money comes from the countries buying your oil. Let's thank them for supporting these scientific research.

How old are you?

I simply posted the article since it's a major breakthrough in this field. I don't care about which researchers were behind this news nor did I claim anything about their nationality let alone "took pride in it", lol.

No, it just occurred at KAUST. So of course no connection. You got me.

 

[Maira La]

No, it just occurred at KAUST. So of course no Saudi academic contribution. You got me.

Good that's what I wanted to hear.

 

[Khafee]

Didn't that happen 1400 years ago?

What happened 1400 years ago?

 

[XenoEnsi-14]

These are the names of the scientists involved in this project in the Nature article linked above:

• Jianfeng Huang,
• Changxu Liu,
• Yihan Zhu,
• Silvia Masala,
• Erkki Alarousu,
• Yu Han
• Andrea Fratalocchi

Do these names look like Saudi names?

I thought so.

In a country built by foreigners, run by foreigners and protected by foreigners, even the science is a foreigner. From the house maids to scientists, this country needs foreigners to function and to keep its pride.

1

Didn't that happen 1400 years ago?

2

Then don't take pride in it. There's no Arab contribution here. The money comes from the countries buying your oil. Let's thank them for supporting these scientific research.

3 Trolls.....Interesting....