People can't believe image of 'darkest colour' is unedited
Social media users have been left unable to wrap their heads around an image of the world's 'darkest colour' - with many calling the photo edited.
When you think of the darkest colour perceived by human eyes, the answer will, of course, be black.
Often referred to as a 'non-colour' by scientists, black occurs when all light wavelengths are absorbed. This leads to a complete absence of visible light - and therefore colour - to the human eye.
So, when you think of true, jet black it's harder to imagine a colour darker than something which is known as the absence of visible colour.
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But what if I told you there was an even darker shade of black?
Enter Vantablack.
Now, upon first glance you may think this photo is of a scientist with a black clip-art circle edited over the top. However, this is not the case, in-fact the man in the photo is actually holding an item sprayed with Vantablack paint.
The image, of course, caused went viral after being posted on social media by X user @creepydotorg, with many people refusing to believe they were looking at an undoctored image.
"Not going to lie unless I was there I would say that was edited 100%," one person commented.
"I refuse to accept this is real and that this ain’t just a black circle edit on," a second added.
The skepticism of the tweet's comments section isn't unwarranted either as I personally couldn't get my head around the concept of Vantablack and decided to do some further investigation.
After doing some light digging, the image leads back to the company Surrey NanoSystems, which pride themselves pride themselves as the creators of the 'super-black' coating.
According to their website, the Vantablack coating is 'independently verified' as the darkest man-made substance in the world and was originally created to be used as part of satellite calibration systems.
The name is also an acronym for Vertically Aligned Nano Tube Array Black and is said to absorb around 99.965% of light.
However, the substance has unsurprisingly captured the imagination of many, with Surrey NanoSystems' website showing items such as watches, cars and masks painted in the substance.
If you're absolutely hell-bent on spraying your bedroom walls, furniture or car in Vantablack, it appears that you can actually purchase it for yourself - although that doesn't seem to be a good idea.
According to one Reddit user who got in contact with the company, the spray paint is 'ludicrously expensive' and apparently even 'hazardous to humans', which explains why the scientists are wearing protective gear.
Guess we won't be able to live out our dreams of painting our bedrooms in Vantablack anytime soon.
Brenna Cooper