It seems ever since Anish Kapoor copyrighted the VANTA black everyone has wanted to either use it or make a "blackest black" of their own. The urge to create the darkest material on earth has hit both artists and scientists alike. A black coating that can be said to absorb all light that hits it is more than just a pretty pigment. Besides the needs of the artistic community such a material has many scientific and military uses. The VANTA black sample that we own came with an affadavit that we would not use it for missile development.

Many other black light absorbing materials are used for telescopes and optical mechanical components. Nasa is developing their own version and several firms have created black coated metal sheets for  optical instruments and lenses.