Researchers at Purdue University, in the United States, created the whitest paint in the world.
In fact, it’s so white that it could reduce or even eliminate the need for air conditioning, scientists say.
hit one guiness world record It was not the researchers’ goal, but their goal was to stop global warming. “When we started this project, about seven years ago, we had in mind energy saving and the fight against climate change.” explains Xiulin Ruan, professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue.
The idea was to make a painting that reflected sunlight from a buildingsaid the researchers. However, by making this paint really reflective, they also made it really white.
The ink reflects 98.1% of solar radiation while emitting infrared heat. Because ink absorbs less heat from the sun than it emits, a surface coated with this ink cools below room temperature. without consuming energy.
Using this new paint to cover a ceiling area of ​​about 90 square meters can result in a cooling power of 10 kilowatts. “This is more powerful than the air conditioners used in most homes”says Ruan.
Typical commercial white paint is hotter than cold. Paints on the market designed to reject heat reflect only 80-90% of sunlight and cannot make surfaces cooler than the environment.
Two characteristics make this ink ultra-white: a very high concentration of a chemical compound called barium sulphate – which is also used in photo paper and cosmetics – and different particle sizes of barium sulphate in the ink.
Purdue researchers partnered with a company to bring this ultra-white paint to market.