Carbon black in the context of "Opacity (optics)"

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⭐ Core Definition: Carbon black

Carbon black (with subtypes acetylene black, channel black, furnace black, lamp black and thermal black) is a material produced by the incomplete combustion of coal tar, vegetable matter, or petroleum products, including fuel oil, fluid catalytic cracking tar, and ethylene cracking in a limited supply of air. Carbon black is a form of paracrystalline carbon that has a high surface-area-to-volume ratio, albeit lower than that of activated carbon. It is dissimilar to soot in its much higher surface-area-to-volume ratio and significantly lower (negligible and non-bioavailable) polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) content.

Carbon black is used as a colorant and reinforcing filler in tires and other rubber products and as a pigment and wear protection additive in plastics, paints, and ink pigment. It is used in the EU as a food colorant when produced from vegetable matter (E153).

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👉 Carbon black in the context of Opacity (optics)

Opacity is the measure of impenetrability to electromagnetic or other kinds of radiation, especially visible light. In radiative transfer, it describes the absorption and scattering of radiation in a medium, such as a plasma, dielectric, shielding material, glass, etc. An opaque object is neither transparent (allowing all light to pass through) nor translucent (allowing some light to pass through). When light strikes an interface between two substances, in general, some may be reflected, some absorbed, some scattered, and the rest transmitted (also see refraction). Reflection can be diffuse, for example light reflecting off a white wall, or specular, for example light reflecting off a mirror. An opaque substance transmits no light, and therefore reflects, scatters, or absorbs all of it. Other categories of visual appearance, related to the perception of regular or diffuse reflection and transmission of light, have been organized under the concept of cesia in an order system with three variables, including opacity, transparency and translucency among the involved aspects. Both mirrors and carbon black are opaque. Opacity depends on the frequency of the light being considered. For instance, some kinds of glass, while transparent in the visual range, are largely opaque to ultraviolet light. More extreme frequency-dependence is visible in the absorption lines of cold gases. Opacity can be quantified in many ways (see: Mathematical descriptions of opacity).

Different processes can lead to opacity, including absorption, reflection, and scattering.

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Carbon black in the context of Tire

A tire (North American English) or tyre (Commonwealth English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide traction on the surface over which the wheel travels. Most tires, such as those for automobiles and bicycles, are pneumatically inflated structures, providing a flexible cushion that absorbs shock as the tire rolls over rough features on the surface. Tires provide a footprint, called a contact patch, designed to match the vehicle's weight and the bearing on the surface that it rolls over by exerting a pressure that will avoid deforming the surface.

The materials of modern pneumatic tires are synthetic rubber, natural rubber, fabric, and wire, along with carbon black and other chemical compounds. They consist of a tread and a body. The tread provides traction while the body provides containment for a quantity of compressed air. Before rubber was developed, tires were metal bands fitted around wooden wheels to hold the wheel together under load and to prevent wear and tear. Early rubber tires were solid (not pneumatic). Pneumatic tires are used on many vehicles, including cars, bicycles, motorcycles, buses, trucks, heavy equipment, and aircraft. Metal tires are used on locomotives and railcars, and solid rubber (or other polymers) tires are also used in various non-automotive applications, such as casters, carts, lawnmowers, and wheelbarrows.

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Carbon black in the context of Silo

A silo (from Ancient Greek σιρός (sirós) 'pit for holding grain') is a structure for storing bulk materials.

Silos are commonly used for bulk storage of grain, coal, cement, carbon black, woodchips, food products and sawdust. Three types of silos are in widespread use today: tower silos, bunker silos, and bag silos.

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Carbon black in the context of Underdrawing

Underdrawing is a preparatory drawing done on a painting ground before paint is applied, for example, an imprimatura or an underpainting. Underdrawing was used extensively by 15th century painters like Jan van Eyck and Rogier van der Weyden. These artists "underdrew" with a brush, using hatching strokes for shading, using water-based black paint, before underpainting and overpainting with oils. Cennino D'Andrea Cennini (14th century most likely) describes a different type of underdrawing, made with graded tones rather than hatching, for egg tempera.

In some cases, underdrawing can be clearly visualized using infrared reflectography because carbon black pigments absorb infrared light, whereas opaque pigments such as lead white are transparent with infrared light. Underdrawing in many works, for example, the Annunciation (van Eyck, Washington) or the Arnolfini Portrait, reveals that artists made alterations, sometimes radical ones, to their compositions.

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Carbon black in the context of Gas burner

A gas burner is a device that produces a non-controlled flame by mixing a fuel gas such as acetylene, natural gas, or propane with an oxidizer such as the ambient air or supplied oxygen, and allowing for ignition and combustion.

The flame is generally used for the heat, infrared radiation, or visible light it produces. Some burners, such as gas flares, dispose of unwanted or uncontainable flammable gases. Some burners are operated to produce carbon black.

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Carbon black in the context of Conté crayon

Conté (/ˈkɒnt, -ti/; French: [kɔ̃te]), also called the Conté stick or Conté crayon, is a drawing medium composed of compressed powdered graphite or charcoal mixed with a clay base, square in cross-section. It was invented in 1795 by Nicolas-Jacques Conté, who created the combination of clay and graphite in response to the shortage of graphite caused by the Napoleonic Wars (when the British naval blockade of France prevented import). Conté crayons had the advantage of being cost-effective to produce, and easy to manufacture in controlled grades of hardness.

They are now manufactured using natural pigments (iron oxides, carbon black, titanium dioxide), clay (kaolin), and a binder (cellulose ether).

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Carbon black in the context of Tattoo ink

Tattoo inks consist of pigments combined with a carrier, used in the process of tattooing to create a tattoo in the skin. These inks are also used for permanent makeup, a form of tattoo.

Professional tattoo inks are available in many colors and use a wide variety of pigments, including inorganic pigments, such as carbon black, and synthetic organic pigments, such as brightly colored azo-chemicals. Commercial manufacturers combine pigments with carriers such as ethyl alcohol or distilled water to create liquid inks. They may include preservatives to reduce risk of contamination and other additives to adjust the viscosity of the ink.

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