A Purdue University professor of mechanical engineering and his students have created the whitest paint on record.
美國普渡大學的一位機械工程教授和他的學生研發出了有史以來最白的油漆。
When Purdue University researchers set out to develop a new paint, the goal was to create one that would reflect sunlight away from a building. It turns out they also set an official Guinness world record for the whitest paint on the planet.
當普渡大學的研究人員著手開發一種新的塗料時，目標是創造一種能將陽光從建築物反射出去的塗料。事實證明，他們還創造了世界上最白的油漆的官方吉尼斯世界紀錄。
“When we started this project about seven years ago, we had saving energy and fighting climate change in mind”, Professor Xiulin Ruan said.
阮秀林教授說:“大約七年前我們開始這個專案的時候，我們的想法是節能和應對氣候變化。”
The paint reflects 98.1% of solar radiation while also emitting infrared heat.
這種塗料能反射98.1%的太陽輻射，同時也散發紅外線熱量。
Because the paint absorbs less heat from the sun than it emits, a surface coated with this paint is cooled below the surrounding temperature without consuming power.
由於這種塗料從太陽吸收的熱量少於它釋放的熱量，塗上這種塗料的表面可以在不消耗能量的情況下低於周圍溫度。
Typical commercial white paint gets warmer rather than cooler. Paints on the market that are designed to reject heat reflect only 80%-90% of sunlight and can’t make surfaces cooler than their surroundings.
典型的商用白色塗料會變暖而不是變冷。市場上設計的拒熱塗料只能反射80%-90%的陽光，而且不能使表面比周圍環境更冷。
Researchers did an outdoor test with an ambient temperature of 43 degrees Fahrenheit. The paint lowered the sample temperature by an additional 18 degrees.
研究人員在43華氏度的環境溫度下進行了戶外測試。塗料將樣品溫度降低了18度。
“That’s more powerful than the air conditioners used by most houses,” Ruan said.
阮秀林說:“這比大多數家庭使用的空調更強大。”
Purdue said it has already filed patent applications and researchers are working with a company to scale up the paint to put it on the market.
普渡大學表示，他們已經提交了專利申請，研究人員正在與一家公司合作，擴大這種塗料的生產規模，將其推向市場。
