The World’s Whitest White Paint

 In 2019, a team at MIT found a way to somehow deepen the color black to previously undiscovered levels of blackness. Flash-forward to this year, and the world’s whitest white, which may provide a faint glimmer of hope when it comes to making buildings more sustainable, is here. According to research led by Purdue University professor Xiulin Ruan and published in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science, the new “whitest white” is capable of reflecting about 95.5% of ultraviolet light that hits it. The breakthrough represents a notable improvement over the previously most reflective white paints, which bounced back between 80% and 90% of that light.

Most white paints use titanium oxide as a paint filler, but Ruan’s research led his team to instead use finely ground calcium carbonate as a means of absorbing ultraviolet light. It is a ubiquitous natural compound present in everything from limestone and seashells to eggs and chalk. Between its reliance on such an abundant material and a compatibility with existing manufacturing processes, the newly crowned king of white paints can be produced just as affordably if not even more cheaply than today’s less-reflective alternatives, Ruan believes.

The end result is a paint that makes a noticeable difference when it comes to cooling. A two-day cooling test in West Lafayette, Indiana, showed that the paint was 18ºF cooler than its ambient surroundings at night, and 3.1ºF cooler when the sun was at its highest, giving it a distinct cooling advantage over competitors under direct sunlight.

That could translate to greater energy efficiency for both homeowners and cities. For a 1,076-square-foot ranch house, research estimates that the paint could save about a dollar a day on electricity costs during the summer. On a wider scale, reducing the energy buildings use to cool themselves could lessen heat island effects that contribute to climate change.

Of course, a better version of white paint isn’t about to displace solar panels as the de facto method for improving the energy efficiency of large buildings. That’s especially true considering that whiter paint’s summertime cooling gains could largely be offset by the need for increased winter heating. But with Ruan speculating that the paint could be used on automobiles, food storage spaces, and data centers, there’s still plenty of reason to believe this ultra-white paint can make a positive impact in the fight against climate change.

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