To make ultra-black materials that won't weigh things down, consider the butterfly
Tuesday, March 10, 2020 - 13:30
in Physics & Chemistry
Some butterflies have ultra-black wings that rival the blackest materials made by humans, using wing scales that are only a fraction as thick. Using scanning electron microscopy and computer simulations to examine the microscopic structures on the wings of 10 species of ultra-black butterflies and four regular black or dark brown butterflies from Central and South America and Asia, researchers have figured out how they make ultra-thin substances that soak up all the light.