Our paint absorbs 5 to 10 times less from the sun. “So commercial white paints will absorb 10 to 20 percent of the sunlight. “What determines how hot the roof is absorption,” Ruan said. But the Purdue paint absorbs less of the sun’s heat than it reflects, which allows it to stay cooler than its surroundings. Traditional white paints only reflect between 80 and 90 percent of sunlight. “If we covered the earth’s surface, one percent of the Earth’s land, we could totally offset the warming effect of the Earth,” he said. He says the white paint reflects over 98 percent of sunlight, which means it could cool buildings without having to use any energy.

Xiulin Ruan is a professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue. The conference celebrates work across industries including film, music, and tech. Purdue researchers were acknowledged for their innovation and sustainability efforts during the annual South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas. The paint absorbs significantly less heat than existing white paints, and scientists say it could be a tool for solving climate change. Purdue University researchers behind the world’s whitest paint were recently given a national innovation award for their work. (Photo courtesy of Purdue University) Photo courtesy of Purdue University Purdue Professor Xiulin Ruan and his team recently won an innovation award at SXSW for their extremely white paint.

Photo paint 2020