Here’s the Lightest Paint in the World (Inspired by Butterflies)

The lightest paint in the world was inspired by butterflies’ wings. It’s so light that you could coat a Boeing 747 with just 1.5 kg of paint rather than the 500 kg of paint typically used. Its inventors say it’s light enough to make cars and planes more energy-efficient. It absorbs less heat than standard paint and keeps underlying surfaces up to 16˚C cooler. So it could help us cut down on energy used for air conditioning. Scientists at the University of Central Florida developed the lightest paint. It’s called ‘plasmonic paint’ and works very differently from the paint we’re used to. Standard paint gets its color from pigments. These are chemicals mixed into paint that absorb and reflect certain colors of light. Plasmonic paint is made with 2 colorless materials - aluminum and aluminum oxide. Its color depends on the structure of these materials at the nanoscale. Watch to learn more about the lightest pain in the world.