3 ms·

I bet this would look fantastic mixed with some vantablack, for the greyest grey achievable.

layer8 6y ago
The next step is using the combination in e-ink fashion, so that you can smoothly regulate the thermal profile as needed.
- tediousdemise 6y ago
  Genius. Just imagine. Honey, it’s going to be -27°C (-16.6°F) tomorrow, can you turn the reflectivity to 0% after brewing the coffee?
- godelski 6y ago
  You could probably more easily do this with just a flat surface that you can rotate. Smaller the squares the better uniform distribution you can get but if you don't have those strict requirements then why go super small (e-ink)?
  - Turing_Machine 6y ago
    You could probably use a scaled-up version of the cable mechanism used in mini-blinds.
  - nitrogen 6y ago
    Just need to make sure that the white coating doesn't block radiation of heat to the building underneath when black is facing the sun.
    - godelski 6y ago
      I'm assuming you would have put this on some conductive surface. Otherwise the black side wouldn't be super useful (you'd re-radiate heat back but conduction is better).
driverdan 6y ago
You joke but it's interesting to think about what mixing them or mixing their components would do. Mixing them as-is would ruin the effect of Vantablack. Since carbon nanotubes are black you probably would get a boring grey color with a gloss surface due to barium sulfate. I'm curious what the effect would be if you coated Vantablack with barium sulfate. A highly reflective surface with an extreme black paint underneath.
gbolcer 6y ago
My next model rocket is vanta and superwhite. No room for shades of grey. :-)
m463 6y ago
I think what might be interesting is like two-sided louvers over your roof. black on one side, white on the other. Flip from one side to the other to help maintain temperature by absorbing or reflecting sunlight.
mealkh 6y ago
Or the most extreme zebra.
- eatingCake 6y ago
  The most jarring Dazzle camouflage[1] imaginable. 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dazzle_camouflage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dazzle_camouflage
  - godelski 6y ago
    Honestly I want to see this. Would your head hurt seeing it in person? Or would your eyes balance it out
khazhoux 6y ago
"The paint mix, named MegaGray, reflects a jaw-dropping 50.000001% of sunlight."

The next step is using the combination in e-ink fashion, so that you can smoothly regulate the thermal profile as needed.

tediousdemise 6y ago
Genius. Just imagine. Honey, it’s going to be -27°C (-16.6°F) tomorrow, can you turn the reflectivity to 0% after brewing the coffee?
godelski 6y ago
You could probably more easily do this with just a flat surface that you can rotate. Smaller the squares the better uniform distribution you can get but if you don't have those strict requirements then why go super small (e-ink)?
- Turing_Machine 6y ago
  You could probably use a scaled-up version of the cable mechanism used in mini-blinds.
- nitrogen 6y ago
  Just need to make sure that the white coating doesn't block radiation of heat to the building underneath when black is facing the sun.
  - godelski 6y ago
    I'm assuming you would have put this on some conductive surface. Otherwise the black side wouldn't be super useful (you'd re-radiate heat back but conduction is better).

driverdan 6y ago

You joke but it's interesting to think about what mixing them or mixing their components would do. Mixing them as-is would ruin the effect of Vantablack. Since carbon nanotubes are black you probably would get a boring grey color with a gloss surface due to barium sulfate. I'm curious what the effect would be if you coated Vantablack with barium sulfate. A highly reflective surface with an extreme black paint underneath.

gbolcer 6y ago

My next model rocket is vanta and superwhite. No room for shades of grey. :-)

m463 6y ago

I think what might be interesting is like two-sided louvers over your roof. black on one side, white on the other. Flip from one side to the other to help maintain temperature by absorbing or reflecting sunlight.

mealkh 6y ago

Or the most extreme zebra.

eatingCake 6y ago
The most jarring Dazzle camouflage[1] imaginable. 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dazzle_camouflage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dazzle_camouflage
- godelski 6y ago
  Honestly I want to see this. Would your head hurt seeing it in person? Or would your eyes balance it out

khazhoux 6y ago

"The paint mix, named MegaGray, reflects a jaw-dropping 50.000001% of sunlight."