To put this in perspective, \u201cmany companies\u201d have reportedly told Subramanian that cracking the code for the perfect red pigment would make him a billionaire. Indeed, in pigment chemistry, not all colors are created equal\u2014and the reason comes down to some easily overlooked, yet very cool, science.<\/p>\n
The chemistry of hues <\/p>\n
Color emerges from the way light interacts with electrons inside molecules. When light strikes a molecule, it powers up the electrons, making them jiggle up to a higher energy level. But these transitions depend on the physical structure of the molecule, as these geometries regulate<\/a> which wavelengths of light are absorbed and reflected.<\/p>\n Accordingly, in pigment chemistry, finding the right element isn\u2019t as important as identifying which arrangement gives off the desired color. For instance, what gives emeralds and rubies their respective green and red colors is the same element, chromium, just with a different atomic arrangement<\/a>.<\/p>\n Historically, colors were \u201cdiscovered\u201d more organically, as ancient artists landed on color recipes combining minerals, animal fats, etc., to create paints and inks. One famous example is Egyptian blue<\/a>, which ancient Egyptians manufactured using sand, sodium carbonate, and copper or bronze shavings.<\/p>\n A chemist\u2019s color hack Subramanian\u2019s claim to fame was the discovery of \u201cYInMn Blue,\u201d which is as close as one gets to a \u201cperfect\u201d blue (hex code #0000ff<\/a>). Fascinatingly, the pigment\u2019s structure\u2014a distorted double pyramid\u2014is intentionally asymmetrical, which scales back quantum rules that forbid electrons from jumping between particular energy levels.<\/p>\n These discoveries have huge practical applications. Laurie Pressman, vice president of the Pantone Color Institute, told Bloomberg<\/a> that the right chemistry allows manufacturers to \u201ccreate the blue in velvet, silk, cotton, rayon, or coated paper stock.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not just the color,\u201d Pressman added. \u201cIt\u2019s the chemical composition of the color. And can that composition actually be realized in the material I\u2019m going to apply it to?\u201d<\/p>\n The billion-dollar pigment <\/p>\n If you have even an inkling of interest in art history, you probably know that red is definitely not \u201crare\u201d in paintings. Heck, the earliest known painting had<\/a> streaks of red. But none of these are \u201cperfect\u201d reds, in the sense that organic red pigments are chemically fragile and fade too easily.<\/p>\n![\"Yinmn](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/YInMn_Blue-336x281.jpg\")
An image of YInMn Blue as synthesized in the laboratory. \u00a9 Mas Subramanian via Wikimedia Commons <\/p>\n