By Madeleine Muzdakis on April 16, 2021 Professor Xiulin Ruan with a sample of the whitest paint yet developed. (Photo: Jared Pike/Purdue University) Combatting the rise in global temperatures requires creative science and innovative thinking. An exciting, new development was recently announced in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces by an engineering team and nanotechnology team at Purdue University. The team had created an ultra-white paint—the whitest to date—which promises a powerful cooling effect which could help combat the use of air conditioning units which contribute to climate change. Scientists had previously discovered a white paint that reflects 95.5% of light. This paint was based on calcium carbonate (CaCO3), which is found in chalk. While the darkest black (vantablack) absorbs 99.95 of light waves, the brightest white should reflect the maximum light possible. The announcement of a new formula for ultra-white is another step in this quest. Based on a high concentration of the pigment barium sulphate, the new paint reflects 98.1 percent of sunlight. Barium sulphate also reflects UV light. As a result, the paint bounces light and heat right back to deep space in the form of radiation (waves) which travel through our atmosphere without being absorbed.