A research team from the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada has just successfully created a super dark material, with the ability to absorb up to 99.3% of light.

What is special is that scientists accidentally discovered the formula for making this material while researching the topic of waterproofing wood with high-energy plasma gas.

They found that using this gas turned the wood cells completely black, with the property of absorbing light almost completely. The material was named Nxylon, inspired by Nyx - the Greek goddess of the night.

“The composition of Nxylon combines the benefits of natural materials with unique structural properties, making it lightweight, stiff and easy to cut into complex shapes,” said Philip Evans, a materials scientist at UBC.

In the research report, scientists said the material's light-absorbing ability comes from the dimples on its surface. They are said to absorb up to 99.3% of light and minimize any reflection from the light.

Even when the gold alloy was coated on the material, it remained black. This showed that the wood after transformation had actually formed a fundamental restructuring of the material.

According to Science Alert , super black materials are valuable in industries such as astronomy, solar energy, and optics. They help devices operate more accurately or efficiently by reducing unwanted light reflection.

This form of material is also popular in art and design, as the "super" black color creates a striking visual effect with sharp contrast to any other light tones when nearby.

While science has found even darker materials that can absorb more light, the new material shows great promise in terms of being feasible to produce on a large scale.

According to the research team, the new material has several advantages. First, it uses wood (specifically linden), which is a renewable material. It also does not require complex pre-treatment, which reduces costs and makes the material more feasible to produce.

Researchers believe that Nxylon can replace rare and expensive black woods such as ebony, rosewood, etc. In addition, it can also replace precious stones such as onyx.