[ad_1]
In 1802, chemists discovered that a large blue pigment could be made commercially using cobalt. For the past 200 years, that was basically it.
Then in 2009, researchers at Oregon State University finally stumbled upon a new form of blue, even brighter than cobalt.
It’s finally on sale now – at $ 179.40 for a three-ounce tube, yeeikes!
Isis Davis-Marks at Smithsonian to the story:
Named after its chemical constituents of yttrium, indium, and manganese oxides, YInMn absorbs red and green wavelengths while reflecting blue wavelengths to produce a bright blue color. The unique hue, which is a hybrid of ultramarine and cobalt blue, fills “a gap in the color gamut,” says art supply maker Georg Kremer. Artnet news.
He adds: “The purity of YInMn Blue is really perfect.”
People all over the world are drawn to blue, which was the first artificial pigment, for millennia. Given the difficulty of extracting blue from natural sources, artists throughout history have had to create synthetic blue pigments. Before YInMn Blue, the last commercially manufactured inorganic blue pigment was cobalt, which was discovered in 1802 and first produced in France in 1807, according to My modern metEmma Taggart. Cobalt is poisonous if consumed in large quantities; it does not reflect heat well and has a tendency to fade over time.
“[YInMn Blue is] really an exceptional blue because it reflects heat more than cobalt blue, it’s really stable and it’s a very beautiful color like lapis lazuli, ”Subramanian told NPR.
[ad_2]
Source link