West Lafayette, Indiana - "Ultra-white": scientists have produced a paint that is brighter and whiter than any other, which they hope will be a weapon against the climate crisis.

When you think of white, you might not be thinking of the same shade someone else would. Just as with every other color, there can be major differences in individual hues. But scientists claim to have developed a more pure shade of white than any other.

Researchers at Purdue University in Indiana have officially presented the new color on the university's website and shared its advantages, because this "ultra-white" can theoretically even help save our planet.

What makes this particular paint special is that it is so bright that it can reflect almost 100% of sunlight. This means that surfaces, walls, or roofs can be cooled more efficiently, saving tons of energy.

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According to Professor Xiulin Ruan, one of the developers of the paint, a roof of about 1,000 square feet painted in this shade will provide about 10 kilowatts of cooling power, which is actually more powerful than air conditioning systems currently installed in most houses.

The paint is so effective that Professor Ruan was able to lower an initial outdoor sample temperature of 43 degrees Fahrenheit by an additional 18 degrees.

On the university's website, the scientists even write that they could make the color a little whiter, but that would probably compromise the quality of the paint so that it might not adhere as well to surfaces.

While commercially available heat-repellent paints can only repel 80 to 90% of light, "ultra white" manages to reflect 98.1%. This is due to including barium sulfate, a salt that is extracted from sulfuric acid and is also used for photo paper, for example.

There is also a dark counterpart to this super white: "Vantablack"is the name of the blackest black paint in the world, and it is capable of absorbing 99.9% of all light.