SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
from the what-would-it-look-like-using-nightvision-goggles? dept.
The first car painted with the world's "blackest black" is deeply unsettling
It's hard to describe Vantablack, the world's darkest black pigment, without seeing it for yourself. First developed for use in light-sensitive aerospace components (and infamously licensed for artistic use solely by sculptor Anish Kapoor), the pigment uses tiny carbon nanotubes to absorb up to 99.965% of light striking its surface. At Google's top secret materials lab, I recently gazed upon a sample of Vantablack in real life for the first time. It almost broke my brain. It has no reflection, no contours. It's like part of the world has been Photoshopped away. Stare at it long enough, and it feels like your soul is being sucked out of your eyeballs.
I couldn't imagine any everyday object being painted in Vantablack, let alone one that can move at 90 miles per hour. But at the Frankfurt Motor Show this September, the auto manufacturer will be displaying a one-off BMW X6 painted in Vantablack.
Even in photos, the effect is pronounced. The car itself appears two-dimensional. Only details like the tires, grill, and windows offer visual cues as to the true shape of the car—though in many images, those components simply seem to be floating in space.
Why A BMW Painted With 'The World's Blackest Black' Is Unlikely To Hit The Road
Chief critic: Auto enthusiasts. They question why a car needs to be painted with vantablack, especially since it won't be for sale anytime soon. And safety studies show that regular black cars are already more dangerous to drive over lighter-colored cars—chances [DOI: 10.1016/j.ssci.2010.05.001] [DX] of crashing a black car at dawn and dusk are 47% higher than that of a non-black car.
Don't forget bird poop and the effects of the Sun on an object that reflects almost no light.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 01 2019, @03:42PM (8 children)
Also discussed on car site, http://www.autoextremist.com/on-the-table1/ [autoextremist.com] where there are some clever letters,
http://www.autoextremist.com/emails-of-the-week1/ [autoextremist.com]
and
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Sunday September 01 2019, @06:08PM (7 children)
Aren't some police speed measurements done with lasers? I guess that wouldn't work too well with that car.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 01 2019, @06:21PM (6 children)
I thought the lasers bounced off the (retro)reflective front license plate (in states like NY, where front plates are mandatory).
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 01 2019, @06:30PM (4 children)
It turns out if enough people just stop putting plates on their car the police don't care. You can get pulled over for speeding with no plates and they won't even mention it.
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Sunday September 01 2019, @07:33PM
Not in the UK.. Both plates or get fined [www.gov.uk]
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 01 2019, @09:23PM
Correct, then they write "NULL" in the license plate name, and that guy in California gets ticket!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 02 2019, @02:38PM (1 child)
It turns out if enough people just stop putting plates on their car the police will be busy all day long pulling over people with no plates. Because they care about their ticket quotas, and even places without quotas handing out more tickets tends to get people noticed for promotion. Get pulled over for speeding and that's one more violation they'll add on to the ticket.
Nice little libertarian fantasy you have, though.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 02 2019, @04:30PM
It isn't fantasy, it is real. Go to new orleans and see cars without plates everywhere.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 03 2019, @12:07AM
The cop aims at whatever he wants.
Lots of states, provinces, and countries don't have front plates, and many of these places can drive to the US legally, without a front plate.
So, front plate? Cop can point there. Can also point at the grill... it's not like every photon has to get back to home...
FYI, there are 'laser jammers' you can buy too.