Vantablack
Light-absorbing carbon coating
Vantablack is a coating of carbon nanotubes that absorbs up to 99.965% of visible light, making it one of the darkest substances known.
Developed for aerospace and military applications, it became controversial when artist Anish Kapoor obtained exclusive rights to its artistic use.
The name combines VAN (vertically aligned nanotube arrays) with black.
Objects coated in Vantablack appear as featureless voids, erasing surface detail: The sculpture looked like a hole in reality.
Rolled hexagonal lattice structures
- coatingApplied surface covering
- pigmentColor-imparting material
- substrateUnderlying supporting material
- sprayDispersed liquid droplets
surface · absorption · nanostructure · application · layer · fabric · aluminum foil · polymer
Matter capturing radiant energy
- reflectionReturned light or thought
- wavelengthSpatial repetition interval
- spectroscopyStudy of light-matter interaction
- calibrationAdjusting for measurement accuracy
thermal imaging · infrared · sensors · telescopes · cameras · lenses · baffles · radiation
Without legal effect
- absenceState of not being
- lightlessHaving no brightness
- shadowLight blocked by object
- abyssImmeasurably profound depth
featureless · depth · invisibility · contrast · silhouette · darkness · obscurity · nothingness
Shaped three-dimensional art
- controversyProlonged public disagreement
- exclusiveLimited to one group
- installationProcess of putting in
- color warOrganized camp team competition
licensing · artistic freedom · contemporary art · exhibition · protest · canvas · palette · visual art
carbon nanotubes
Rolled hexagonal lattice structures
- coatingApplied surface covering
- pigmentColor-imparting material
- substrateUnderlying supporting material
spray · surface · absorption · nanostructure · application · layer · fabric · aluminum foil · polymer · nanotechnology
light absorption
Matter capturing radiant energy
- reflectionReturned light or thought
- wavelengthSpatial repetition interval
- spectroscopyStudy of light-matter interaction
calibration · thermal imaging · infrared · sensors · telescopes · cameras · lenses · baffles · radiation · photons
void
Without legal effect
abyss · featureless · depth · invisibility · contrast · silhouette · darkness · obscurity · nothingness · starless
sculpture
Shaped three-dimensional art
- controversyProlonged public disagreement
- exclusiveLimited to one group
- installationProcess of putting in
color war · licensing · artistic freedom · contemporary art · exhibition · protest · canvas · palette · visual art · monopoly
Vantablackmirror finish
Perfectly reflective surface
retroreflector · snow · chrome · Mylar
Vantablackpure white
Entirely without color
luminous · radiant · dazzling · incandescent
Vantablacklight source
What gives off illumination
radiance · brilliance · luminescence · incandescence · glow
black, blacken, blackened, blackening, blacks, blacker, blackest, blackish, blackness