# @science on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DRxdn_qEoRi
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/37551835-science-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/e607cb90e0.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-12-02T19:30:13.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Science 🧬 (@science) — https://gondola.cc/science

## Caption

Ultrablack is a rare color that reflects less than half a percent of incoming light, a property valued in telescopes, cameras, and solar devices. Researchers at Cornell University have now created the darkest fabric ever measured, a material with an average total reflectance of just 0.13 percent. Their method draws from the magnificent riflebird, a bird-of-paradise whose feathers trap nearly all light using melanin pigments and tightly packed barbules.⁠
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Working with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the team studied how these feathers channel light inward. To replicate this, they dyed white merino wool with polydopamine, a synthetic melanin, then etched the material in a plasma chamber. The etching formed nanofibrils, tiny spiked structures that force light to bounce repeatedly until absorbed. The resulting textile stays ultrablack across a 120-degree viewing span, outperforming commercial materials that often appear shiny at an angle.⁠
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Because these nanofibrils form within the fibers, the fabric stays flexible and wearable, unlike earlier ultrablack technologies that relied on rigid or fragile structures. The process works on natural materials including wool, cotton, and silk, and the team has filed for patent protection while exploring commercialization through Cornell’s innovation programs.⁠
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The fabric’s extreme absorptivity could improve solar-thermal systems by converting more captured light into heat, and the researchers are also studying possibilities for thermo-regulating camouflage. It has already appeared in a riflebird-inspired dress by designer Zoe Alvarez, where its deep matte tone remained unchanged even when the image’s contrast and color settings were heavily altered.⁠
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#science #materials #nanotech #engineering #physics #biomimicry #solartechnology #innovation #research #cornelluniversity⁠
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Source: 10.1038/s41467-025-65649-4

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## Tags

materials, biomimicry, nanotech, cornelluniversity, engineering, solartechnology, science, research, innovation, physics

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