Finally, a diamond as black as my heart.

MIT engineers have developed a material that is ten times blacker than anything that has existed. The black is being heralded as the “blackest black” in existence, including Vantablack. For reference, Vantablack, the previous holder of the “blackest black” title, captures 99.965 per cent of light.

The engineers were not setting out to out-black themselves. Instead, they were experimenting with ways to grow carbon nanotubes on electrically conducting materials such as aluminum, to boost their electrical and thermal properties.