Scientists created the world's whitest paint. It could eliminate the need for air conditioning.

[Nevilledog]

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John FitzGerald
@TheTweetOfJohn
The whitest paint in the world has been created in a lab at Purdue University, a paint so white that it could eventually reduce or even eliminate the need for air conditioning, scientists say.

Scientists created the world's whitest paint. It could eliminate the need for air conditioning.
The world's whitest paint has been created in a lab at Purdue, a paint so white that it could eventually reduce the need for air conditioning.
usatoday.com
7:27 PM · Sep 17, 2021

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/09/17/whitest-paint-created-global-warming/8378579002/

The idea was to make a paint that would reflect sunlight away from a building.
The paint reflects 98.1% of solar radiation while also emitting infrared heat.

The whitest paint in the world has been created in a lab at Purdue University, a paint so white that it could eventually reduce or even eliminate the need for air conditioning, scientists say.

The paint has now made it into the Guinness World Records book as the whitest ever made.

So why did the scientists create such a paint? It turns out that breaking a world record wasn't the goal of the researchers: Curbing global warming was.

*snip*

[BigmanPigman]

1. If they want to cool cities then wouldn't they

need to paint all the asphalt streets and the rooftops as well as the buildings?

[PoliticAverse]

3. And paint all of the people white too... n/t

[BigmanPigman]

6. Everything would need white...

from parking meters to signage, all the vehicles, etc. It is good in theory....

[caraher]

18. No

This isn't about cooling the outdoors, it's about not needing electricity to cool indoor spaces (and thus avoid carbon emissions associated with generating the electricity).

[dixiegrrrrl]

37. It isn't the heat, it's the humidity...

Actually, very much a truism.

If the paint keeps houses interiors cool by reflecting that much heat, where does the heated air go? Adding more hot air to a Southern summer is gonna increase humidity..and humidity is one reason for running A/C in the summer down here.

[ornotna]

26. The Greeks have been doing this a long time

They do it to keep the homes a little cooler in the Mediterranean sun.

[ProfessorGAC]

38. And The Air!

When it's hot in the city, it's hot on the golf course & corn fields that are 6 or 8 mikes from my house.
The air still gets hot, and we can't paint that white.
While this is a great idea & should allow for reduction in energy consumption for air conditioning, it's not going to eliminate A/C.
That's hyperbole, to put it nicely.

[ornotna]

5. If only Christo were still alive.

Last edited Sun Sep 19, 2021, 11:31 AM - Edit history (1)

[canetoad]

22. Nah

Christo the installation wrap artist.

Look him up - something big is being wrapped in homage to him after his death. He did cool stuff.

[GoneOffShore]

25. Here's a link to his last project - I was there last week and saw some of the preparations

https://www.dw.com/en/arc-de-triomphe-wrapped-as-christo-gets-final-wish/a-59191229

[orleans]

4. that's really cool

but i mean it. that is really cool.

[TheBlackAdder]

47. I hear it's even whiter than Utah!

[orleans]

51. omg! and utah can make you snowblind!

[Moebym]

7. Given how snow blindness is a real phenomenon

One wonders how broad the applications can realistically be for this white paint.

[Kablooie]

8. Roofs that nobody can see would work.

[Dave says]

31. My roof is already white

It’s a 3 story residence with a white flat roof. The roof material is “TPO” mixed with white pigment. My electric bill is low.

I have a second home with a traditional shingled roof. The electric bill on this place is a whopper. It does have, note, lots and lots of windows.

[Hortensis]

32. My inevitable immediate second thought. Perhaps people in

some areas that used it fairly extensively wouldn't venture out without the world's most protective vision shields.

I've heard about this before, though, and you just know it's going to be part of how we cool things. I love this kind of stuff.

[cstanleytech]

9. How durable is it though and what about when it gets dirty from things like pollen

not to mention pollution that is the air?
After all as it accumulates layers on it of those things you would think it would lose its effectiveness.

[calimary]

13. Even so, a most interesting approach!

Seems to me the more and different ways to approach the global warming challenge, the better. Why not? Different solutions for different countries, latitudes, altitudes, and other conditions and variables.

The combined applications might really move us forward. Many solutions. Many ideas. Many ways to override that all-yer-eggs-in-one-basket thing…

Why the heck not? What do we have to lose - besides maybe an extra degree or so of temperature increase?

I like it. I like that people are thinking about and through this problem and coming up with ideas.

[cstanleytech]

14. Well there are a number of other potential methods to reduce the need

for air conditioning that might work better than paint such as building houses underground or with thick rammed earth walls rather than wood or brick.

[calimary]

19. See? More ideas and different approaches!

The answer to the climate crisis is probably not a one-size-fits-all kind of thing.

[pansypoo53219]

10. ugh. just keep it off woodwork please.

[chowder66]

12. Not sure this will cut it for menopausal women. nt

[Hortensis]

33. ! :)

[chowder66]

41. You could stick me next to an iceberg in the middle of a blizzard and I'd melt the iceberg.

Such fun!

[Hortensis]

46. Delightful memories. For my husband who took to

sleeping in sweats and wool socks also.

[chowder66]

50. Lol! What a trooper. nt

[cadoman]

15. the biggest challenge is how well it deflects smog/dirt/etc.

There was a paint manufacturer in New Orleans that made a big deal about how great the white paint would be on the Superdome but the smog just piles up on it and they have to wash it all the time. Lawsuits have been going on it forever.

I'm not sure how they'll ever solve that issue. Think an easily washed and durable material is as much as you can hope for.

[Shanti Shanti Shanti]

16. Replace A/C? Ha, not unless it can can remove humidity too

[Midnight Writer]

35. Yep, it's the humidity that kills me.

[cinematicdiversions]

36. Yeah reduce the need for rather than eliminate. NT

[Demobrat]

20. The power companies will shut that down fast.

It would cost them way too much money.

[ffr]

23. ...to reflect IR back into space. Only the GHGs will bounce it right back down and keep it trapped

So while this is progress. What really needs a cure, is something that sequesters carbon dioxide. Like something we all use on a daily basis that could take in CO2 and belch out oxygen on a continuous mass scale.

[GoCubsGo]

29. You mean something like this?

[druidity33]

42. A real place?

And if it is, is it greenery for the sake of greenery? Or is it a viable city farm?

[GoCubsGo]

45. Yes, it is a real place.

This particular building is the ACROS Fukuoka Prefectural International Hall, located in Japan, but green roofs exist throughout the world, including every large city in the U.S. The greenery keeps the building cool, and in many places, they double as vegetable gardens. And, like all vegetation, it sequesters carbon

[smirkymonkey]

48. I would love to see this kind of thing everywhere.

I think it's brilliant! I also believe that green space is healing for the human soul.

[GoCubsGo]

52. Me, too. It seems to be slowly catching on.

My favorite hockey team built a new practice facility/community center a few years ago. About half of it is covered with a green roof:
https://www.greenroofs.com/projects/fifth-third-arena-chicago-blackhawks-community-ice-arena/

Hundreds of others are being constructed in the US alone. Lots of vertical gardens, as well. The seem popular in Europe.

I agree. It's much better for the soul than is white paint.

[druidity33]

53. I am quite familiar with green roofs...

and have been fooled before by very clever digital renderings showing what a building COULD look like. I am also familiar with more than a few failed green roof experiments. Unfortunately it is a multi-million dollar endeavor and mostly a showpiece for governments and corporations (think LEED ratings). Just my 2 cents. Conceptually, of course i get it and in theory i agree it's a good idea.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

24. Whitest ever? They've never seen me dance

[Ilsa]

28. LOL!!! nt

[smirkymonkey]

49. *snort*

Kind of like this?



Sorry. God, I hate him! What an ass!

[Hassin Bin Sober]

54. I plead the 5th.

[GoCubsGo]

27. I suppose this might help in places where a "green" roof isn't possible.

But, I'd rather see plants up there, rather than bare paint. And, how would the paint affect any solar panels that might be on the roof?

[Elessar Zappa]

30. Interesting.

[SYFROYH]

34. It will be named New Hampshire.

[Silent3]

40. I first moved to NH in the early 80s

The state is probably still less diverse than many other states, but at least in southern NH it's a lot more diverse than when I first arrived.

[LiberatedUSA]

39. Do they call it the Mike Pence shade?

[dsc]

43. I heard they are going to call it Pat Boone

[agalisgv]

44. Hope they make better sunglasses to go with it.