World's Lightest Paint Invented

Researchers at the University of Central Florida have developed a new kind of cooling paint based on structural color, which is longer-lasting and pigment-free. The paint is made up of tiny aluminum flakes dotted with even tinier aluminum nanoparticles, making it the lightest paint in the world. It doesn't trap heat from sunlight like pigments do, and its constituents are less toxic than paints made with heavy metals like cadmium and cobalt. The paint could potentially cut fuel usage in planes and cars that are coated with it, and could also help mediate the "urban heat island" effect in cities.