New non-nanotube super-black coating demonstration Surrey NanoSystems 2016-10-25 | Please note that this is a development product and not yet released. It is not Vantablack or Vantablack S-VIS (as the mask was previously coated with), but a new non-nanotube coating we have in development. Its total hemispherical reflectance is c.0.3% at 600nm wavelength. Unlike Vantablack, which is a free space material that doesn't tolerate handling, this is a solid coating that is far more tolerant. We thought this would be an interesting way to demonstrate its performance as nothing but Vantablack and S-VIS gets even close.
Vantablack - but not as we know it, courtesy of our friends at Boxing Bear Brewing in Albuquerque Surrey NanoSystems 2024-02-07 | Hey - we're unveiling a very unusual type of Vantablack here, courtesy of our friends at the Boxing Bear Brewing Co. in Albuquerque, New Mexico.Check these folks out at boxingbearbrewing.com/brews
Star Tracker Baffle Surrey NanoSystems 2023-12-08 | Vantablack S-VIS coating on a 5 vane star tracker baffle.
Global Vantablack Parthership with PRG and Levitation29 Surrey NanoSystems 2021-09-08 | The blackest man-made substance on earth, so dark that it has the ability to turn anything it's coated in into an optical illusion. Curious? We’ve partnered up with @Levitation29 and @prg.north.america to bring Vantablack, the coating technology originally invented for space applications, into your hands and we’re excited to dive into the infinite possibility with you.
H. Moser video showing how Vantablack is used in their timepieces Surrey NanoSystems 2020-04-16 | H. MOSER & CIE. NEW VENTURER VANTABLACK® BLACK AND ENDEAVOUR TOURBILLON VANTABLACK® BLACK HANDS
BMW Vantablack VBX6 Behind The Scenes Surrey NanoSystems 2019-08-28 | At the Frankfurt Motor Show, BMW will introduce a special model based on the new X6 – the BMW VBX6 Vantablack. This exclusive show car is the result of a collaboration between BMW and Surrey NanoSystems, the inventors of the Vantablack technology.The X6 is the first and only vehicle in the world to feature a Vantablack VBx2 paint finish
BMW X6 Vantablack Launch Trailer Surrey NanoSystems 2019-08-28 | A great project in partnership with BMW and Levitation29 for the launch of the new BMW X6. Prior to release, cars are usually hidden by complex camouflage or black covers so people don't know what the design really looks like whilst it's being road tested. This project takes that to another level by coating the car in Vantablack VBx2 1% reluctance coating. Stealth mode!
Black Ops 4 and Vantablack - A world first gaming experience Surrey NanoSystems 2018-10-10 | For many years people across the world have asked "what would it be like to stand in a Vantablack coated room?"This was a good question, so we not only built a room, we went one better and partnered with Activision and Treyarch, the creators of the Call of Duty series, to create a black-out room where people could experience the amazing game play of Black Ops 4 in absolute darkness. No shadow, no reflection, just stunning graphics and game play in a way never experienced before.
Both Vantablack S-VIS masks coated and rotating together Surrey NanoSystems 2018-06-27 | Created by Maddy Dench from our science teamShort clip of both bronze masks coated with Vantablack S-VIS, one coated externally and one internally. Both are on an eccentric rotation running at slightly different speeds.
SPIE DCS 2018 Conference Video Surrey NanoSystems 2018-05-03 | Thanks for dropping by the stand at SPIE DCS Orlando 2018.
Vantablack VBx2 used on the Hyundai Olympic Pavilion designed by Asif Khan Architects Surrey NanoSystems 2018-02-12 | Asif Khan has unveiled a pavilion at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games in South Korea, described as the "darkest building on earth".The British architect spray-painted the 10-metre-high temporary structure with Vantablack VBx2, a substance that absorbs 99 per cent of light.
VBx1 super-black non-nanotube coating Surrey NanoSystems 2017-10-19 | Here's a preview of how VBx 1 performs against Vantablack S-VIS on the same shaped object. VBx 1 is a completely new paint technology that does't use carbon nanotubes to act as the active medium. It's been created for visible spectrum aesthetic and design applications where you want to create unique and visually stimulating features that have never before been possible.
Space Tech Expo - Bremen 2017 Surrey NanoSystems 2017-10-17 | If you're visiting Space Tech Expo 2017 in Bremen, come and see some coated parts on our stand and have a chat with our technical team.
Vantablack S-IR Robot test coating cell Surrey NanoSystems 2017-08-24 | We have been asked to show a part going through the initial coating process for creating Vantablack S-VIS/S-IR. This is just the first step in the process, but it's also the most difficult, so we moved across to robots to improve safety, performance, cost and throughput. This is a development production cell where we test the coating, safety and operational capability of the technology for HVM.
Vantablack S-VIS free standing film vs 2.4GHz radiation Surrey NanoSystems 2017-06-30 | We get a lot of comments asking if Vantablack can absorb long wavelength radiation in the microwave/radar spectrum. This is a fun Friday clip of what happens when you pop a couple of grams into a microwave operating at 2.4GHz (12.49cm wavelength).The film is freestanding and has no metal content. Obviously, the energy density and wavelength is far removed from airborne radar, but you get the idea. All that energy has no place to go as it's being absorbed, so the reaction is highly exothermic. A few seconds in, the bang you hear is the glass platter letting go due to localised high thermal stress.
Dry run of the worlds first robotic super-black coating cell for Vantablack S-VIS Surrey NanoSystems 2017-05-25 | First video clip of a dry run manufacturing cell test for for Vantablack S-VIS/VBx super black coatings. This test cell covers robotics, abatement, safety and environmental technology required to manufacture Vantablack S-VIS and VBx super-black coatings in very high volume.
Bronze Vantablack S-VIS mask on a VBx1 background Surrey NanoSystems 2017-04-20 | Just a fun short clip with no sound! The mask was damaged whilst going through airport security, so before it gets re coated we thought we would shoot it against a VBx 1 background to see what it looked like.
Vantablack S-VIS vs. VBx1 on a bronze and 3D printed mask set Surrey NanoSystems 2017-03-31 | We have been asked a number of times by viewers to show the masks rotating whilst filming up close and in high resolution. We had two replica masks created by 3D printing using Bluestone polymer, and used the two original bronze masks from the science museum display.
SPIE Photonics 2017 - Vantablack testing Surrey NanoSystems 2017-01-27 | This was prepared for SPIE Photonics 2017 in San Francisco (sorry for the imperial units). It shows some interesting tests on Vantablack and Vantablack S-VIS. Some you have seen before and some not. All tests have explanations as to what they are. There is no sound as this runs in the background at the show. Let us know what you think?
Vantablack Attraction - Gecko feet Surrey NanoSystems 2016-12-02 | It's Friday so we thought we would post a fun clip demonstrating Van der Waals force. The glass microscope slide is just touching the surface of the Vantablack coated aluminium substrate. There is no glue, wet or tacky coating keeping the slide in place. It's just Van der Waals force. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_der_Waals_force
SLSTR Vantablack S-VIS trial assembly with RAL Space scientists Surrey NanoSystems 2016-11-29 | Here's a short clip showing a RAL Space SLSTR black body cavity being heat shrunk together by two RAL scientists. This is the first time an SLSTR cavity has been assembled using Vantablack S-VIS, so it will be an interesting test to see how it performs on this ground demonstrator trial.
Slow motion water on Vantablack - High resolution Surrey NanoSystems 2016-10-20 | This is a slow motion capture using a Sony RX100 showing water impacting a Vantablack coated foil surface. Half way through we reverse it and run it backwards!
Water and Vantablack in Hi Resolution Surrey NanoSystems 2016-10-18 | Here's a short clip of a Vantablack coated foil being submerged in water. Because of the difference in refractive index between the water and the Vantablack coating all the 3D foil features can be seen whilst it's submerged. As soon as the water is poured away it's back to that black-hole look. The point of the clip is to show how the coating can stand up to direct water immersion as this is not something found in other black coatings.
Vantablack S-VIS severe thermal shock test clip Surrey NanoSystems 2016-09-13 | This clip shows an aluminium test coupon coated with Vantablack S-VIS being subjected to severe thermal shock. This test is far worse than the slow thermal cycling seen in space, and goes to show how robust the coating is in this type of application. The clip starts with the test coupon immersed in liquid nitrogen at -196 deg C (-320 deg F). Once it reaches equilibrium it is than transferred to a hot plate running at 300 deg C in air (572 deg f). To pass, it must tolerate this thermal shock multiple times without changes its optical properties. Let us know what you think?
Two new non-nanotube super-black paints - that you can handle! Surrey NanoSystems 2016-09-05 | Another first from our amazing multinational research team.Here's a short clip of two new, non-nanotube, super-black paints we have in development. The clip starts with a side by side comparison with Original Vantablack and Vantablack S-VIS all against a conventional black painted strip of steel. The two new versions have different total hemispherical reflectances (THR), as one is designed to be lower cost than the other. The best has a THR of 0.5% (vis spectrum) and the lower cost version has a THR of 0.8% (vis spectrum). When you compare this against conventional, black coatings, or even the hex coating seen in the clips, you can see that they out perform even the best and most expensive super-blacks available today (other than Vantablack and S-VIS). Both can be handled, but greasy fingers will damage the optical trapping cavities. Please note that these products are still in development and are not ready for release.
Vantablack Sphere Surrey NanoSystems 2016-07-04 | Here's a fun video that we thought would visually demonstrate just how black Vantablack S-VIS is. We coated a sphere and a plate with Vantablack S-VIS and shot it in high resolution under bright, clean room lighting. Try this with the blackest objects you have under normal lighting conditions, and see how different it is. Everything we think of as 'black' suddenly looks quite grey beside this coating. Let us know what you think about the video as our research team always enjoy your comments and feedback. Remember though that Vantablack S-VIS absorbs 99.8% (THR) of light in the visible spectrum, and not 100%, so you might just catch a ghost image :)
Super hydrophobicity vs. changing surface tension Surrey NanoSystems 2016-06-10 | One of our research scientists (Oliver C), thought it would be good to make a follow-on video showing what happens to the Vantablack S-VIS coated aluminium disk when you change the surface tension of the water. You can see what happens as soon as a few drops of surfactant are added.
How is it possible to make a flat disk of aluminium float on water? Surrey NanoSystems 2016-06-02 | Here's a fun video showing the effect of the ultra low surface energy, Vantablack S-VIS coating on a plain aluminium disk when it's dropped in a pool of water. The coating's low surface energy combined with the area of the disk helps to give it positive buoyancy. Normally, as aluminium is far more dense, it just sinks in water! Here's what happens when you change the surface tension with a few drops of surfactant youtube.com/watch?v=DlVi-rfuNFk
Mirror black Vantablack Surrey NanoSystems 2016-05-06 | Here's something new out of our research labs. It's a highly specular Vantablack paint. This means it's super black, but also mirror like (like the face of your iPhone or surface of patent leather shoes, but much much blacker). One day soon we might see super black mirror cars driving down the motorway :)Let us know what you think? It's early stages for this aesthetic coating, but our scientists like reading your comments!
Vantablack S-VIS being launched into space on cubesat Kent Ridge 1 Surrey NanoSystems 2016-05-03 | This is video taken from the first launch of Vantablack S-VIS into space by ISRO on board a Berlin Space EO Satellite. Vantablack S-VIS was used on both star-trackers for positioning the satellite in orbit. We are all really pleased to have taken part in this successful mission.Footage courtesy of ISRO - Copy write ISRO 2015
Blackest cloth ever! Surrey NanoSystems 2016-04-26 | Here's a short clip of some new Vantablack fabric next to normal black dress material. We shot it on a Sony RX100V 4 for clarity. The reflectance of the material is c.0.3% THR against the 30% THR for the normal black fabric. One thing that shows up clearly is dust on the surface :) Please note that this 'cloth' is not designed for fashion or clothing. One day possibly we will design and create a suitable fabric for clothing, but not yet!
Demonstration sample for Education Surrey NanoSystems 2016-04-08 | This is the first teaching demonstration sample of Vantablack on a foil. We have received so many requests for these from across the world, that we thought we would make one to see if it still demonstrates the coating's unique properties behind a cover. Sadly, there was no way to not see me reflected in the polycarbonate cover as the surface behind is so dark. What do you think?
Vantablack on wrinkled aluminium foil - shot in hi resolution Surrey NanoSystems 2016-04-07 | We have been asked by viewers to show a Vantablack wrinkled foil shot in hi-resolution with a better quality camera. Normally we use my iPhone 6, but as viewers quite rightly pointed out - 'you can't be filming the latest nanotechnology with a camera phone'! We really appreciate this feedback, so we decided to get a Sony RX100 IV to shoot all future clips with. Let us know if you think it makes a difference?
Aeroglaze (aka Chemglaze) Z306 Ultra-black paint vs. Vantablack - Shot with a Sony RX100 IV Surrey NanoSystems 2016-04-06 | Aeroglaze Z306 is the black paint used to reduce stray light (IR) in the Hubble Space Telescope. We thought we would take a freshly painted test sample of Z306 and run a direct comparison against Vantablack using an ultra-bright LED torch and then a red laser. Obviously, this a visible spectrum test as the LED is broadband white light.
Blacker than original Vantablack! Surrey NanoSystems 2016-03-04 | This is a new development of the Vantablack process (just out of the reactor and after reflectance testing). It's resulted in a coating so black that our spectrometers can't measure it! Even running a high power laser pointer across it hardly reflects anything back to the viewer.We have never before made a material so 'black' that we can't measure it on our UV-VIS or MID-IR spectrometers. Watch this channel to see where it leads!
Big Wrinkles Surrey NanoSystems 2016-02-29 | Here is an example of a very wrinkled aluminium foil coated with Vantablack. We purposely shot this on an iPhone 5s and used no edits. it's exactly as you see it on the screen!
Three Shades of Black Surrey NanoSystems 2016-02-01 | Right to left demonstrating three shades of black. First is matte black paint, middle is the previous best available black for space applications. Left is Vantablack. They are being illuminated with a superbright, white light LED cluster.
Vantablack Sphere vs Vantablack Sample Surrey NanoSystems 2016-01-22 | This is a video of a Vantablack coated sphere passing over a flat sample about 1cm off the surface.
Vantablack vs Water Surrey NanoSystems 2016-01-15 | This is a 15mm Vantablack coated ball being dipped into a bowl of water. The surface is now super-hydrophobic so water refuses to interact with it in any way!
Vantablack vs LED Lights Surrey NanoSystems 2015-12-11 | This video shows super bright LED lights being shone onto a Vantablack coated hex pattern on wrinkled aluminium foil, compared with the previously blackest commercially available coating in the Visible and IR spectrum. No competition!
Vantablack vs. Liquid Nitrogen Surrey NanoSystems 2015-11-20 | This demonstrates the coating's robustness against temperature cycling such as you find in cryostats or outer space where no thermal energy is being received (in shadow) and objects radiate their heat away. Obviously, this is a far more extreme test as in space thermal cycling does not work like this (heat is lost through radiative means). This is simply intended to show that the coating is robust against severe thermal shock and mechanical erosion of the bubbles during cool-down. Most super-black coatings fail or delaminate when immersed in liquid nitrogen because they go brittle and contract as it's such a severe shock. For actual space TVAC testing the coating is cycled from -100°C to +100°C in a vacuum. This is constantly repeated and the optical and mechanical properties of the coating are studied to see how/if they change over time.
Surrey NanoSystems Team Go-Karting Night! Surrey NanoSystems 2015-11-13 | This week we went Go-Karting. Our new team member Joe Miller beat us all, with rapid and sometimes questionable driving. :)
ORE Fine Jewellery Gold Ring with Vantablack Surrey NanoSystems 2015-11-06 | We are working with ORE Fine Jewellery for a beautiful new gold ring, part coated with Vantablack. Vantablack test under super bright white LED illumination. Note that the Vantablack reflects almost nothing back as the light passes over. The brighter the gold gets, the less able you are to discern any structural shape in the coated area. This ring is such a step up in the world of beautiful luxury jewellery.
Vantablack vs Humans Surrey NanoSystems 2015-10-30 | While our research team were at lunch. Our Sales Coordinator, Cassie and Office Manager, Ernesta ventured into the Cleanroom so we could show you our Vantablack on crinkled aluminium foil, and Vantablack hex foil. Let us know what you think of the matching hair nets and safety specs :)
