Nissan Motor Co. said it has developed a new type of paint that significantly reduces the temperature inside vehicles parked in direct sunlight.

The surface of a car coated with the innovative material remains up to 12 degrees cooler than that of a vehicle with standard paint, tests showed.

The company said the coating material can help rein in the temperature rise not only on the car’s body but also in the vehicle when exposed to direct sunlight.

    • 14th_cylon@lemm.ee
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      23 days ago

      This is because the substance artificially reproduces a process known as radiative cooling on the painted surface. A typical example of radiative cooling is a phenomenon where the ground releases heat to cool off.

      Nissan worked with the Chinese enterprise Radi-Cool as it specializes in the creation of radiative cooling technologies and materials.

      (…)

      However, one obstacle remains: the paint is six times thicker than the usual coating on the car body surface. The substance is also more expensive, which would add to the total cost of a new vehicle.

      That, in turn, makes it difficult for the coating material to be utilized for mass-produced passenger automobiles.

      For this reason, Nissan is looking to commercialize the paint on ambulances and other specialized vehicles as the first step.

      • boonhet@lemm.ee
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        23 days ago

        However, one obstacle remains: the paint is six times thicker than the usual coating on the car body surface. The substance is also more expensive, which would add to the total cost of a new vehicle.

        That, in turn, makes it difficult for the coating material to be utilized for mass-produced passenger automobiles.

        With 6 times thicker paint there’s a chance it also wouldn’t rust like a proper Nissan and we can’t have that, now can we

      • ace_garp@lemmy.world
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        22 days ago

        …the paint is six times thicker than the usual coating on the car body surface… looking to commercialize the paint on ambulances and other specialized vehicles as the first step.

        This is the best part of the article.

        After driving ambulance during Australian summers, in the Great Victorian Desert, this would assist so much with operating temperatures. A literal life-saver, if the AC ever broke, also.

    • Onno (VK6FLAB)@lemmy.radio
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      23 days ago

      It’s staggering to me the number of black cars being sold in hot countries like Australia. Not to mention just how hard they are to see against the background of a bitumen road.

      • daddy32@lemmy.world
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        23 days ago

        In some countries, you get a penalty on insurance depending on the car color, with maximum penalty reserved for black cars.

        • Kuma@lemmy.world
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          22 days ago

          How is it with silver and grey? Do you get a heavy penalty for them too? If it rains, snow and/or are foggy can it be very tricky to see silver and grey cars.

            • boatswain@infosec.pub
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              22 days ago

              Growing up I remember hearing that red cars were the most expensive for insurance, as owners of red cars had the highest incidence of speeding and dangerous driving.

          • Kecessa@sh.itjust.works
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            22 days ago

            Heavy rain or snow all that matters is if the lights work!

            Source: we get both around here

  • Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee
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    22 days ago

    Twelve degrees what? A degree Celsius is more than twice a degree in Fahrenheit.

    State your units, FFS.

    • Echo Dot@feddit.uk
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      19 days ago

      The scientific consensus is that unless otherwise stated it’s Celsius.

      In scientific papers you just write 14° you don’t need to specify the unit.

      So I’m just going to use that rule and assume Celsius.

    • Echo Dot@feddit.uk
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      19 days ago

      Nasa have developed a paint for spacecraft that can be any color including black and still have the properties of white paint. It’s only colored in the visible part of the spectrum but allows IR to pass right through.

      Although you do need to paint the vehicle white initially as an undercoat.

  • LucidNightmare@lemm.ee
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    22 days ago

    I just love how humans will do anything other than actually focus on fixing the problem. Love it.

    • gari_9812@lemmy.world
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      22 days ago

      I would argue that the new paint could help alleviate the issue, since it would incentivise people to decrease use of the AC. My concern then would be how polluting is the production of the new paint compared to the current version.

      • Owljfien@lemm.ee
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        22 days ago

        My immediate thought was to wonder if this would help give kids who get left in a car by mistake have more of a fighting chance

    • werefreeatlast@lemmy.world
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      22 days ago

      Like reducing the number of cars.

      Ohh too much traffic! 🤔 Let’s expand the freeways until you need a freeway to cross other freeways.

  • MerchantsOfMisery@lemmy.ml
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    22 days ago

    Windshield screens are the low-tech but far more effective method of keeping a car’s interior cooler, typically by at least 20F when it’s really hot out. Slightly inconvenient but unlike this paint, a windshield screen will actually make a difference.

    • Alexstarfire@lemmy.world
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      22 days ago

      Probably yes, but it may not actually be doable. Not just because of how much there is to paint, but because the energy doesn’t just evaporate. It’s got to go somewhere. In this case I’m assuming it’s reflected, even if diffused. If everything does this, things that don’t (people, cars, pets, etc) will get all that extra energy.

      Wouldn’t want to end up in a situation like this: https://www.businessinsider.com/death-ray-skyscraper-is-wreaking-havoc-on-london-for-a-few-totally-insane-reasons-2015-7

      • ✺roguetrick✺@lemmy.world
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        22 days ago

        The amount of folks who have melted their shitty low quality thermoplastic patio furniture with their sliding glass windows will always amuse me, but overall I don’t consider IR radiation to be a big problem. Using a bunch of VOCs to paint everything and pollute a city would be though.

        • Sir_Fridge@lemmy.world
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          22 days ago

          You ever seen that curved building that focused the sunlight into a spot in front of it and melted cars? Lol

          • w2tpmf@sh.itjust.works
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            22 days ago

            You mean the one in the comment that the comment you replied to mentioned and linked to?

    • terminhell@lemmy.world
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      22 days ago

      Lucky! I’ve seen 150 here in Louisiana.

      And even higher when I lived in the Mojave desert. Like, if you didn’t leave a window cracked there’s a real chance your windshield cracks.

        • terminhell@lemmy.world
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          19 days ago

          It’s not so much the thermometer temp here in Louisiana. It’s the 80-99% humidity. At these levels your body’s main heat defense: Sweat - no longer works as it can’t evaporate fast enough or at all. Then it becomes an insulator and a feedback loop of hell. Like being wrapped up in a wet electric blanket.

      • LaunchesKayaks@lemmy.world
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        22 days ago

        I live in Pa, so our weather isn’t crazy hot like the south. I can’t imagine the weather where you’ve lived. 85F is my upper limit. Anything over makes me feel like I’m going to die.

        • terminhell@lemmy.world
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          19 days ago

          I can remember a few summers in the desert where it would reach 130’s. And as a kid back in the early 90’s, we had the hole in the ozone too. No joke we had ozone warnings, and no outside recess cuz of it.

          Plenty of summer nights were the temp never dropped below ~100f

          Strangely, we often got winter temps below freezing.

      • callouscomic@lemm.ee
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        22 days ago

        I mean, if you’re a middle age bro with a retail supervisor job compensating to show off to teen girls, I guess.

        • Psythik@lemmy.world
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          21 days ago

          I see, thanks for pointing out that I’m a stereotype. FML

          TBF, the 350Z was the sports car to have when I was a teenager. Not my fault that I can only afford one just now in my mid-30s, haha. I blame Ronald Regan for screwing over working-class citizens. If I had the money my parents had, I’d be driving an EV by now.

          (edit: and FWIW I’m in a happy relationship with an adult woman similar to my age)

  • remer@lemmy.world
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    22 days ago

    And that’s 12 degrees Celsius (21.6 degrees Fahrenheit)! What kind of garbage article doesn’t include the units!?

    • MHLoppy@fedia.io
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      22 days ago

      Or 53.6 degrees Fahrenheit if you believe whoever wrote the page for Nissan lmao. I guess they just typed it into a converter with no context, and the converter spat out an answer amounting to “if your thermometer says it’s 12 degrees C, that would be 53.6 degrees F”… but without that context.