Are you looking for a new color to bring life to your craft projects? We have some good news for you.
The world’s newest shade of blue, a brilliantly bright, durable pigment called YInMn blue, has been licensed for commercial use and is already in the hands of some artists.
The blue, called YInMn, was accidentally discovered by Mas Subramanian, a professor of materials science at Oregon State University.
He threw a bunch of chemicals in with manganese oxide, which is black, and heated them to around 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. In a serendipitous accident, one of the resulting samples turned a vivid shade of blue.
Further testing found that the unique crystal structure of the resulting compound kept the color from fading, even when exposed to oil or water.
“Ever since the early Egyptians developed some of the first blue pigments, the pigment industry has been struggling to address problems with safety, toxicity and durability,” said Subramanian in statement released by Oregon State University.
But this color is surprisingly more durable, safe and fairly easy to produce, according to Subramanian.
Existing blue pigments include ultramarine, made from ground lapis lazuli, and toxic alternatives such as cobalt blue and Prussian blue, making OSU’s discovery a major breakthrough.
Plus, the color reflects a large amount of infrared light, which could make it useful in roofing materials, reflecting sunlight to keep buildings cool.
That was back in 2009.
But now, there’s a lot of hype about the new color because it’s reportedly getting officially released later this year.
That means it’ll be available to artists and manufacturers who’ll hopefully be adding an amazing blue splash of color to all your crafting projects.
The basic crystal structure used for these pigments was known before, but no one had ever considered using it for any commercial purpose, including pigments.
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