The only issue with this incredible feat was the paints thickness.
They mostly had two questions: Where can I buy it, and can you make it thinner?
So, his team set out to experiment with other materials to surpass their formula.
They struck (white) gold in hexagonal boron nitride, a substance mainly used in lubricants.
Spacecraft also have to be as light as possible, and this paint can be a part of that.
The team is working on commercializing the paint so that we can see these real world applications actually happen.
Purdue researchers Xiulin Ruan and Joseph Peoples use an infrared camera to compare the cooling performance of white paint samples on a rooftop. (Photo: Jared Pike/Purdue University)
Ruan emphasizes, Using this paint will help cool surfaces and greatly reduce the need for air conditioning.
This not only saves money, but it reduces energy usage, which in turn reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
Its pretty amazing that a paint can do all that.
Prof Xiulin Ruan with a sample of the whitest paint yet developed. (Photo: Jared Pike/Purdue University)
Its reflectivity was 98.1%.
Prof Xiulin Ruan with a sample of the whitest paint yet developed.
Infrared images showing how the ultrawhite paint actually has a cooling effect.
Infrared images showing how the ultrawhite paint actually has a cooling effect. The purple is ambient temperature, the black represents the cooler painted swatch. (Photo: Joseph Peoples/Purdue University)
The purple is ambient temperature, the black represents the cooler painted swatch.
So the team set out to experiment with more materials.
The new formula is 2.7 times thinner than the previous one.
Professor Xiulin Ruan (Photo: John Underwood/Purdue University)
The new formula is 2.7 times thinner than the previous one. (Photo: Andrea Felicelli/Purdue University)
Photo: dell640/Depositphotos
