A new 'blackest black' material coats a natural yellow diamond

Written by Kendall Trammell, CNN

MIT engineers have created a material that is 10 times blacker than anything else ever been reported, the school announced.

The material is made from vertically aligned carbon nanotubes, or CNTs, which are microscopic filaments of carbon. (Think a fuzzy forest of tiny trees.) The team grew them on a surface of chlorine-etched aluminum foil.

The foil captures at least 99.995 percent of any incoming light. This means the material reflected 10 times less light than all other superblack materials, including Vantablack that previously claimed the title as the world's "blackest black."

The artwork features a 16.78-carat natural yellow diamond from LJ West Diamonds that is estimated to be worth $2 million. The team coated the diamond with the ultrablack material, making the typically brilliantly-faceted gem appear as a flat, black void.

The art project was conceived by Diemut Strebe, an artist-in-residence at MIT in collaboration with Brian Wardle, an MIT professor of aeronautics and astronautics, and his team.

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