![\"Magnificent,riflebird,(ptiloris,magnificus),observed,in,nimbokrang,in,west,papua,\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/magnificent-riflebird-beauty-shot-1280x853.jpg\")
The magnificent riflebird. \u00a9 mihirjoshi via Shutterstock <\/p>\n
This dark fabric could eventually end up in cameras, solar panels, and telescopes. For now, though, the team used it to make that classic black dress, finished with a dash of iridescent blue in tribute to the riflebirds that inspired the discovery. The new fabric features an average reflectance of 0.13%, making it the darkest fabric reported so far, according to the paper.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s \u201cultrablack\u201d? <\/p>\n
In color theory, \u201ctrue black<\/a>\u201d or \u201ctrue white\u201d are terms often used in graphic design or when describing technology displays.\u00a0Apple devices also advertise something called \u201ctrue tone,\u201d which purports to present users with clearer, more accurate colors.<\/p>\n However, \u201cultrablack\u201d in this context isn\u2019t quite any of these things. Rather, the term is used more as a measure of reflectivity, being defined as a dark shade that reflects less than 0.5% of the light that hits it. Many creatures naturally sport ultrablack in their skin, scales, and feathers, as it grants them mating or survival benefits.<\/p>\n Understandably, scientists have tried to recreate ultrablack in the lab\u2014with limited success. Although one experiment<\/a> managed to create a tiny tube that reflected as little as 0.005% of visible light, this, like most other attempts, resorted to costly techniques that produced fragile, toxic materials. As the paper notes, these ultrablack materials would be \u201cunsuitable as wearable or everyday textiles that require biocompatibility, breathability, and stretchability.\u201d<\/p>\n Taking lessons from riflebirds <\/p>\n For the new fabric, the researchers collaborated with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, which presented them with riflebird feathers for analysis. The team then carefully analyzed how the positioning of barbules\u2014tiny, hook-like structures that hold bird feathers together\u2014gave the riflebirds their characteristic plumage.<\/p>\n They found that a strict hierarchy in the feather barbules, combined with melanin-based nanostructures, worked to deflect light inward.\u00a0As a result, riflebird feathers appear to be extraordinarily black when viewed straight on but look much shinier at an angle.<\/p>\n To replicate these structures, the team first dyed a white merino wool fabric with polydopamine, a synthetic melanin. Then, they took the wool to a plasma chamber and etched it with nanofibrils, or spiky nanoscale structures mimicking the barbules. The final product had an average reflectance of 0.13% and remained ultrablack across wide angles, the study reported.<\/p>\n \u201cThe light basically bounces back and forth between the fibrils, instead of reflecting back out\u2014that\u2019s what creates the ultrablack effect,\u201d Hansadi Jayamaha, the study\u2019s lead author and a doctoral student at Cornell\u2019s Department of Human-Centered Design, said in a release<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom a design perspective, I think it\u2019s exciting because a lot of the ultrablack that exists isn\u2019t really as wearable as ours,\u201d added Larissa Shepherd, study senior author and a material scientist at Cornell. \u201cAnd it stays ultrablack even from wider angles.\u201d<\/p>\n The team is eager to get this technology out to the market and has already applied for provisional patent protection, Shepherd reported.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The tiny black dress may be a fashion classic, but making the tiny, perfectly black dress is more…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":326957,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[4175,62809,79],"class_list":{"0":"post-326956","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-material-science","9":"tag-ornithology","10":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=326956"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326956\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/326957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=326956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=326956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=326956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Ultrablack](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ultrablack-cornell-wool-dyeing-1280x717.jpg\")
Researchers first dyed a slab of merino wool when creating their ultrablack fabric. Credit: Cornell University <\/p>\n