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
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      77
      ·
      3 months 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
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        36
        arrow-down
        2
        ·
        3 months 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

          • boonhet@lemm.ee
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            3 months ago

            At the… Ugh idk. They all have super thin paint nowadays. Especially the more expensive brands.

      • ace_garp@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        13
        ·
        3 months 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
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      21
      ·
      3 months 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
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        6
        ·
        3 months ago

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

          • daddy32@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            3 months ago

            Lol. Wouldn’t want to see that applied to people although I can imagine the rhetoric.

        • Kuma@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          4
          ·
          3 months 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
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              7
              ·
              3 months 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
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            2
            arrow-down
            1
            ·
            3 months ago

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

            Source: we get both around here

  • daddy32@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    67
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    3 months ago

    Nissan also detects you having sex in the car and phones the info home.

        • Cethin@lemmy.zip
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          14
          ·
          3 months ago

          Well, they would have invented the specific formulation they’re using. I’m sure it’s not exactly like this but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the same concept with microbeads.

          No one invents anything totally new. It’s all adding on to what others have made in the past. Nothing has ever been created from scratch.

    • Echo Dot@feddit.uk
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      edit-2
      3 months 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.

  • remer@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    52
    arrow-down
    14
    ·
    3 months ago

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

    • MHLoppy@fedia.io
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      19
      ·
      3 months 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.

      • BakerBagel@midwest.social
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        3 months ago

        There probably wasn’t even anyone who actually wrote it. Fed it into some LLM to generate the page and no one actually edited it to make sure everything made sense

        • MHLoppy@fedia.io
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          7
          ·
          3 months ago

          Fair point, but I guess I would hope that the person being paid to write the copy would check it, since getting that right seems like it’s part of their job description ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

        • AA5B@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          edit-2
          3 months ago

          That’s why it’s a better choice to just clearly identify the units and not attempt to be clever about converting for a particular audience

    • DarkThoughts@fedia.io
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      31
      arrow-down
      17
      ·
      3 months ago

      What kind of garbage article doesn’t include the units!?

      What for? Almost no country uses Fahrenheit.

      • Telorand@reddthat.com
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        35
        arrow-down
        2
        ·
        3 months ago

        If that’s how scientists did science, we’d have mountains of confusion. “Eh, most people will get it. Good enough.”

        Information like this is global. It’s a single “C” for clarity. That’s not an unreasonable ask.

          • Telorand@reddthat.com
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            3 months ago

            Maybe it’s a mental reading thing. I always “hear” the word “degrees” in my head when I see °, so I like the extra effort to include that, but I also know that colloquially, people are a lot lazier.

        • DarkThoughts@fedia.io
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          13
          arrow-down
          11
          ·
          3 months ago

          This is a news article, not a study, which would’ve more likely used Kelvin, which would be still 12 degrees. It’s for everyday people, which almost all of which use Celsius to measure temperature. People outside of the few countries who use Fahrenheit don’t get confused about it because it’s literally the only measurement they use in their life. If you travel outside the US you will find that no one adds Fahrenheit conversations anywhere and that pretty much all temperatures are listed in Celsius.

          • Telorand@reddthat.com
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            14
            arrow-down
            8
            ·
            3 months ago

            You’re arguing that it’s not worth the effort to be clear over a single letter, from a place of what appears to be some American-oriented xenophobia. Not a good look.

            But to your point about travel, that isn’t analogous. This isn’t an American tourist going to another country, where the temperature context is Celsius. This is an article disseminated globally; by its very nature, the context should be agnostic of locale, and so it would behoove the authors to be clear (again, with a single letter) so that there is no confusion.

            • DarkThoughts@fedia.io
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              11
              arrow-down
              7
              ·
              3 months ago

              Calling out US entitlement isn’t xenophobia. That self applied victim complex is just proving my point.

              This is an article disseminated globally

              Anything on the internet is inherently accessible globally, unless there’s a geo-block in place. That does not mean that the things on the internet have to inherently be tailored to US standards or with US viewers in mind. The clearly not US sounding website “The Asahi Shimbun” even specifically has the subtitle “Asia & Japan Watch”, which should make it more than obvious that this is not a US focused media. The only confusion coming up here is when you have to assume US units being used everywhere else, which simply is not the case.

              • Telorand@reddthat.com
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                12
                arrow-down
                3
                ·
                3 months ago

                Again, you’re quibbling about the letter C for the sake of clarity and calling that US entitlement. You’re welcome to die on that hill, but it seems like a silly one to die upon because you have some beef with Americans.

                • DarkThoughts@fedia.io
                  link
                  fedilink
                  arrow-up
                  5
                  arrow-down
                  7
                  ·
                  3 months ago

                  Again, you’re quibbling about the letter C for the sake of clarity

                  No, that’s what you are doing. lol I’m telling you that the letter is irrelevant for the majority of people in the world because we all already assuming the correct units of temperature and you seem to take an issue with that fact.

              • AA5B@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                4
                arrow-down
                2
                ·
                3 months ago

                I’ve definitely seen some non-US news sources convert to US common units based on my locale. I’d much prefer they just clearly state what they’re using, especially like here where it’s just a matter of adding one character - similar to time where it’s adding three characters for the time zone.

                It’s not even necessarily a US centric view asking for it - taking the high road here: anyone in the US interested in science is used to seeing both common and metric units. it’s really no big deal to switch back and forth. Just be aware there are multiple possibilities and indicate which you’re using.

    • Zip2@feddit.uk
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      11
      ·
      3 months ago

      You’re right. Everything should be in degrees kelvin by default. Problem solved.

    • ZealousSealion@discuss.tchncs.de
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      3 months ago

      Why would it be anything else?

      It’s clearly too low a number to be °K. And since the only two valid units of measurement for temperature are Kelvin and Celsius, it must be °C.

      • remer@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        7
        ·
        edit-2
        3 months ago

        A differential temperature of 12C is equal to a differential temperature of 12K…… You don’t take the offset into account for differential temperatures.

    • Allero@lemmy.today
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      14
      arrow-down
      15
      ·
      3 months ago

      I agree clarification never hurts, but the entire world except for ~4% of highly entitled population will read that right.

        • Allero@lemmy.today
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          9
          arrow-down
          4
          ·
          edit-2
          3 months ago

          Fair, my bad! Sorry if it was offensive.

          I just got a little sick of all the Fahrenheit (and also Imperial) domination around here. This, in turn, is often left without clarification, despite the system being way less popular.

          Lemmy as a platform is extremely America-centric, despite having tons of folks from everywhere else, which is aggravating in the long run. World really, really doesn’t all revolve around land of the free.

          • Zip2@feddit.uk
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            3
            ·
            3 months ago

            Metric ton of folks or colonial? Please clarify.

            I agree though, that’s why I like posting conversions from time to time on other posts that are US defaults.

          • rottingleaf@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            3 months ago

            Being from Russia, I’m fine with people using the units they are more confident with or used to.

            (Not specifying units may be a bit confusing, but then people here don’t say\write “it’s 20 degrees Celsius” either.)

            • Allero@lemmy.today
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              1
              arrow-down
              2
              ·
              edit-2
              3 months ago

              Russian-languaged media is not commonly consumed by someone living under imperial/Fahrenheit system, so it’s only natural.

              For English, it might make sense to at least always add Celsius in parentheses, unless it’s highly regional news.

              Also, привет российским леммиводам :D

          • IamAnonymous@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            7
            arrow-down
            2
            ·
            3 months ago

            The comment asked to list out the units which is a common thing to do. You don’t list out a scientific value without its units. They didn’t say list it out for Americans. Maybe the study was done in the US and they listed it in F. How would you know? So who came in here with an attitude?

            • DarkThoughts@fedia.io
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              2
              arrow-down
              6
              ·
              3 months ago

              No, they converted it to Fahrenheit because that’s what they use & expect to be clarified upon.

              • IamAnonymous@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                4
                arrow-down
                1
                ·
                3 months ago

                No, they first listed the units which is Celsius and then converted it themselves and didn’t excepted it to be converted. No one is complaining that it’s not in F but rather that the units are missing.

  • Buffalox@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    40
    arrow-down
    8
    ·
    3 months ago

    I seriously doubt that, tests have been performed comparing black and white painted cars, and the difference was insignificant. The heat buildup in a car is due to the the sunlight entering through the windows.

    • BallShapedMan@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      30
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      3 months ago

      To add to your comment, ceramic window tint is a night and day difference. My steering wheel, shifter, and all couldn’t be touched after work. I wore driving gloves to get home. With the tint there slightly warm and the AC doesn’t take half the drive to catch up, the car is cool by the first stop light.

      Maybe they should sell cars with that by default instead?

        • model_tar_gz@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          11
          ·
          edit-2
          3 months ago

          Yes. It contains ceramic nano particles that reflect UV without interfering with visibility.

          edit: I meant IR. But it reflects both.

    • nyctre@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      8
      ·
      3 months ago

      Could you link one of these? All the ones that I can find say there’s quite a bit of a difference

      • Buffalox@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        7
        ·
        edit-2
        3 months ago

        OK I’ll link the danish test, this test is done with 2 cars that are identical, except for the color of the paint:

        https://livsstil.tv2.dk/2018-05-24-bliver-en-sort-bil-varmere-i-solen-end-en-hvid-tv-2-har-lavet-testen

        Konklusionen er altså, at den sorte bil ikke varmes mærkbart mere op end den hvide.

        Translation:
        The conclusion is that the black car does not heat up noticeably more in the sun than the white.

        So it does a little bit that you can measure, but not enough to really make a difference.

        Det skyldes ifølge Christian Bahl, seniorforsker hos DTU Energi, at bilerne opvarmes gennem ruderne.

        According to Christian Bahl senior researcher at DTU energy, that is because the cars are heated through the windows.
        (DTU is a well recognized institution for scientific research in Denmark.)

        • nyctre@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          3
          ·
          3 months ago

          Maybe the fact that the experiment was done when outside were only 20-22 degrees made the difference less noticeable? Otherwise I can’t explain why all the other tests I’ve found said the difference was 5-10+ degrees.

      • Buffalox@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        edit-2
        3 months ago

        Sorry can’t find it, all I can find in english are some where the data isn’t clear.
        If a white car has brighter interior it will stay slightly cooler, I cannot find a test where everything is the same except the color of the car.
        What I can say however, is that the test I saw was performed in Denmark. It’s possible countries with hotter climates may observe some difference?

        Obviously the main source of heat is what enters through the windows, and how much is reflected out again does have an influence.,

        If a white car has white seats and interior, they will obviously not heat as much as black seats and interior.

        The white color on the exterior will also reflect more light into the car, except maybe at noon.

        Edit PS:
        I linked the danish test in a new response.

        • Jojo, Lady of the West@lemmy.blahaj.zone
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          3 months ago

          Obviously the main source of heat is what enters through the windows, and how much is reflected out again does have an influence.,

          A lot of things seem obvious but turn out not to be, or not as much as I’ve first thought. Hence the usefulness of data and studies rather than mere reasoning.

    • Venator@lemmy.nz
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      arrow-down
      3
      ·
      3 months ago

      They should install automated blinds like some high end luxury cars have except make them out of that silvery windscreen sunshade stuff.

  • LucidNightmare@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    38
    arrow-down
    10
    ·
    3 months ago

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

      • callouscomic@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        8
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        3 months 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
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          3
          ·
          edit-2
          3 months 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)

      • Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        4
        ·
        3 months ago

        There’s a very long list of two door sports cars I’d buy instead of one of those bloated excuses.

        • Psythik@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          3 months ago

          I’d like to see that list, cause I’m I’m considering selling the car in a year or two. Requirements: 2 doors, convertable, 300+ BHP, manual transmission, stability control (cause I’m a bad driver lol), under $15K.

            • Psythik@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              3 months ago

              Already considered all of those before buying the Z. None of them meet my horsepower requirements. And the last time I checked, they don’t make a convertible WRX and BRZ/FRS/86.

      • frezik@midwest.social
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        edit-2
        3 months ago

        I had a 370Z. Basically the same chassis with a bigger engine.

        Feels like sitting in a bathtub. It’s got a heavy ass flywheel that makes the V6 feel as smooth as a V8, but with predictable effects on responsiveness. You can cut the fly weight in half and it’s still perfectly good to run on the street without issues.

        I traded it in for an Miata NC and never looked back. Sure, the Z has more power, but it doesn’t make good use of it the way a Miata does.

        • Psythik@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          edit-2
          3 months ago

          Funny you mention that; I had the opportunity to buy an ND Miata for $5K more. Went with the 350Z instead. Now your comment is making me second guess myself, even though I love how the 350 handles.

          It glides through corners so damn well, I can’t possibly imagine it getting any better than this, but you “Miata is always the answer” people always come of the woodwork and make me second guess my decision. The low horsepower figures always got to me. But now I’m thinking that maybe I should have just taken the damn test drive before falling in love with the Z.

  • Ilovethebomb@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    27
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    3 months ago

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

    State your units, FFS.

    • Echo Dot@feddit.uk
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      3 months 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.

    • herrvogel@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      8
      ·
      edit-2
      3 months ago

      They found a very interesting way of selling their hybrid cars as full on EVs where I live. Their e-power stuff are small ICEs working as generators for electric motors that then drive the wheels. Apparently the fact that the wheels get all their power from an electric motor makes it definitely not a hybrid no sir, despite the fact the cars have tiny ass batteries and the single source of power for the whole system is the ICE. Also they somehow have worse fuel efficiency than many contemporary ICEs that cost quite a bit less. I don’t understand Nissan.

      • T156@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        4
        ·
        3 months ago

        A few car companies seem to be doing that. Toyota(?) here are advertising their hybrid vehicles as “self-charging electric vehicles” instead of a hybrid, even though there’s no way to plug them in and not have them self charge.

    • Syd@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      34
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      3 months ago

      No, only Nissans. It says right there.

    • Alexstarfire@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      3 months 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

        • intensely_human@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          3 months ago

          Oh great so now the rest of the universe has to deal with it. Really just kicking the can aren’t we

      • ✺roguetrick✺@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        edit-2
        3 months 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.

      • Fedizen@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        3 months ago

        great video. Its wild that it is functioning as an IR emitter and just beaming things into space.

      • XeroxCool@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        edit-2
        3 months ago

        Ultimately, they can be, but there’s lots of differences between them once they reach the bucket you buy. They have different adhesion qualities, but that could be addressed with an appropriate primer. They have different final finish surface requirements, which could be an issue for how the paint works. I remember seeing dragonfly-wing-style paint that was white when viewed perfectly straight buy blue when viewed at any off angle due to a microscopic vertical grid of blue walls. There may also be a required clearcoat component that may not be compatible between the two surfaces. Metal paint is also designed to handle the flex of metal where as concrete paint would barely be concerned about that but possible address crumbling instead.

        Edit: and after reading the article, it’s a radiative-cooling paint rather than a reflecting coating. Concrete has a much lower thermal conductivity so this may not be effective in transferring heat out of the concrete.

      • intensely_human@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        3 months ago

        Metal paint is concrete paint. Microsoft paint is abstract paint. This comment is metaphorical paint.

  • marx2k@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    12
    ·
    3 months ago

    As someone living in Wisconsin with salty road winters, I’ll say that Nissan’s reputation is mostly trash here based specifically on their paint