5 ms·

These ultrablack paints are all carbon nanotube based, right? Sounds pretty carcinogenic to me. The website makes it out to be "non toxic" though. I wonder if

These ultrablack paints are all carbon nanotube based, right? Sounds pretty carcinogenic to me. The website makes it out to be "non toxic" though. I wonder if I'm too paranoid... anyone knows what's the pigment made of, exactly?

whatshisface 5y ago
Good point. Carbon nanotubes are carcinogenic. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5799097/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5799097/
- NikolaeVarius 5y ago
  Well, dont eat paint chips.
  - pixl97 5y ago
    More about the dust that is generated when the product is used.
    - perl4ever 5y ago
      Is there any kind of dust that's really healthy to breathe? I imagine pretty much everything that exist in tiny particles has microscopic sharp edges.
      - whatshisface 5y ago
        On one end of the spectrum there's flour, on the other end there's asbestos.
        perl4ever 5y ago
        Well, I wouldn't assume flour is harmless in an industrial setting. For example, there's "popcorn lung", (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obliterative_bronchiolitis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obliterative_bronchiolitis) you don't think of artificial butter flavored popcorn as a toxic terror, but in a factory, it can have severe effects over a period of time.
        pixl97 5y ago
        In positions we talk about the LD50. When it comes to environmental exposure of things like dust to incidents of lung damage, I'm not sure how we measure said effects. Yea, breathing any significant amount of dusts can be harmful, be we should be very concerned for products where insignificant amounts of material can be harmful.
        perl4ever 5y ago
        I've wondered about drywall/gypsum dust. The first time I was on a construction site, I was pretty young and nobody was insisting I wear a mask so I didn't at first.
dekhn 5y ago
No, that's vantablack, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vantablack https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vantablack for which a company has a patent. I believe black3.0 is much more conventional paint (pigment based, rather than structural color based) See https://www.ko-pro.black/190516black30/ https://www.ko-pro.black/190516black30/
- masklinn 5y ago
  The company's patent is a thing, but as explained down the page black 3.0 exists specifically because the company granted Anish Kapoor an exclusive artistic use license to Vantablack S-VIS, so no other visual artist can use S-VIS. Also of note: there are variants of Vantablack with aligned and unaligned nanotubes, as well as non-nanotubes-based variants (the VBx series). There is also a non-surrey nanotubes-based paint called Singularity, created by Nanolab in partnership with Jason Chase, and an other "very black" non-nanotubes paint called Musou. I don't know how Musou compares to 3.0, and last time I'd checked Singularity was slightly more reflective than Vanta. They do have the avantage (for artists) of being available though, and Musou and 3.0 are pretty normal paints.
  - mike_d 5y ago
    To nit pick a bit on "so no other visual artist can use S-VIS" It is not that the company made a deal to exclude other artists, but that they made an exception to allow one artist. You as an individual, and likely you as a corporation, can't buy Vantablack. You have to provide technical drawings and a detailed writeup of your product, submit it for review to the company, they send it to the UK government, etc. until eventually they tell you it will be tens of thousands of dollars to paint something the size of a Netgear router and that only their paint shop can apply the coating.
    - smnrchrds 5y ago
      What is Vantablack used for? Besides Anish Kapoor's art, is there any information on what else it has been incorporated in? I imagine some of its uses are classified, but are there some other ones that are known?

whatshisface 5y ago

Good point. Carbon nanotubes are carcinogenic. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5799097/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5799097/

NikolaeVarius 5y ago
Well, dont eat paint chips.
- pixl97 5y ago
  More about the dust that is generated when the product is used.
  - perl4ever 5y ago
    Is there any kind of dust that's really healthy to breathe? I imagine pretty much everything that exist in tiny particles has microscopic sharp edges.
    - whatshisface 5y ago
      On one end of the spectrum there's flour, on the other end there's asbestos.
      - perl4ever 5y ago
        Well, I wouldn't assume flour is harmless in an industrial setting. For example, there's "popcorn lung", (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obliterative_bronchiolitis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obliterative_bronchiolitis) you don't think of artificial butter flavored popcorn as a toxic terror, but in a factory, it can have severe effects over a period of time.
        pixl97 5y ago
        In positions we talk about the LD50. When it comes to environmental exposure of things like dust to incidents of lung damage, I'm not sure how we measure said effects. Yea, breathing any significant amount of dusts can be harmful, be we should be very concerned for products where insignificant amounts of material can be harmful.
        perl4ever 5y ago
        I've wondered about drywall/gypsum dust. The first time I was on a construction site, I was pretty young and nobody was insisting I wear a mask so I didn't at first.

dekhn 5y ago

No, that's vantablack, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vantablack https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vantablack for which a company has a patent. I believe black3.0 is much more conventional paint (pigment based, rather than structural color based) See https://www.ko-pro.black/190516black30/ https://www.ko-pro.black/190516black30/

masklinn 5y ago
The company's patent is a thing, but as explained down the page black 3.0 exists specifically because the company granted Anish Kapoor an exclusive artistic use license to Vantablack S-VIS, so no other visual artist can use S-VIS. Also of note: there are variants of Vantablack with aligned and unaligned nanotubes, as well as non-nanotubes-based variants (the VBx series). There is also a non-surrey nanotubes-based paint called Singularity, created by Nanolab in partnership with Jason Chase, and an other "very black" non-nanotubes paint called Musou. I don't know how Musou compares to 3.0, and last time I'd checked Singularity was slightly more reflective than Vanta. They do have the avantage (for artists) of being available though, and Musou and 3.0 are pretty normal paints.
- mike_d 5y ago
  To nit pick a bit on "so no other visual artist can use S-VIS" It is not that the company made a deal to exclude other artists, but that they made an exception to allow one artist. You as an individual, and likely you as a corporation, can't buy Vantablack. You have to provide technical drawings and a detailed writeup of your product, submit it for review to the company, they send it to the UK government, etc. until eventually they tell you it will be tens of thousands of dollars to paint something the size of a Netgear router and that only their paint shop can apply the coating.
  - smnrchrds 5y ago
    What is Vantablack used for? Besides Anish Kapoor's art, is there any information on what else it has been incorporated in? I imagine some of its uses are classified, but are there some other ones that are known?