# @science on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DPPWafaE6fJ
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/35222624-science-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/824f2b5f89.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-09-30T20:30:18.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Science 🧬 (@science) — https://gondola.cc/science

## Caption

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.⁠
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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.⁠
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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.⁠
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The new paint was revealed in a paper in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, in which the researchers explained the reasons behind the paint’s cooling performance. They used barium sulfate as the pigment at a 60% concentration, which, unlike conventional titanium dioxide pigment, doesn’t absorb UV light.⁠
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#paint #sunsrays #sunlight #thesun #uvlight #visiblelight #physics #science

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 3,365
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## Tags

science, sunlight, visiblelight, sunsrays, physics, paint, thesun, uvlight

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