In 2021, a group of US researchers produced the whitest-ever paint. It cooled surfaces by 4.5ºC below the ambient temperature and reflected 98% of sunlight.⁠ ⁠ White-painted roofs have long been considered a solution to cool buildings. They are currently used all around the world, from New York to India -- but there’s a problem. The reflective white paints currently on the market only reflect 80-90% of sunlight and absorb UV light. This means that oftentimes, they can’t cool surfaces below ambient temperature.⁠ ⁠ _____⁠ ⁠ The researchers argue this new white is probably the closest equivalent of the blackest black, known as “Vantablack,” which absorbs up to 99.9% of visible light. The paint formulation reflects up to 98.1% of sunlight, compared with the 95.5% of the white they developed in 2020, and sends infrared heat away from the surface as well.⁠ ⁠ The new paint was revealed in a paper in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, in which the researchers explained the reasons...