Chemist Accidentally Discovers First New Shade of Blue in 200 Years

First new shade of blue discovered for 200 years to be turned into Crayola crayon - 'YInMn Blue' - Children will be able to color the sky a different shade for first time in 200 years, after scientists created a vivid ‘new blue’ and Crayola announced it is turning it into a crayon. In 2009 Oregon State University made the serendipitous discovery of an entirely new color while heating chemicals in a laboratory oven.

The bright blue shade was the first new blue pigment to be created since the French chemist Louis Jacques Thenard discovered cobalt blue in 1802.

Now children will be able to get their hands on the new shade by the end of the year, after Crayola announced it is turning the pigment into a new crayon, to replace ‘dandelion’ - a yellow shade which is being retired.

The new colour was discovered by accident by Mas Subramanian , a professor of materials science at Oregon State, who was working with students to manufacture new materials which could be used in electronics.

But when he heated Yttrium oxide, Indium oxide and a bit of Manganese oxide and pulled the mixture out of the furnace he discovered it had turned a vibrant blue, which he catchily dubbed 'YInMn blue' in reference to its chemical composition.

Prof Subramanium said it was ‘truly an honour’ that his pigment was being turned into a new crayon.

“This was a serendipitous discovery, a happy accident,” said Prof Subramanian .

“But in fact many breakthrough discoveries in science happen when one is not looking for it. Most pigments are discovered by chance.

“Blue is associated with open spaces, freedom, intuition, imagination, expressiveness, inspiration and sensitivity.

“We could not imagine a better partner than Crayola, a brand synonymous with colour and creativity to help us share this discovery with the world.”

The new colour is so vibrant because the chemicals bind in a unique structure which completely absorbs red and green wave-lenghs of light, so only blue is reflected. The compounds are also very stable, so the shade will not fade and it is non-toxic.

And companies are interested in using if for energy efficiency as it can bounce away the ultraviolet waves of the Sun, and potentially help keep buildings cooler.

Crayola is inviting children to help name the new colour, a competition which will close on June 2 and the new shade will be announced in September.

“We are a company all about kids, creativity and colour, so we strive to keep our colour palette innovative and on trend, which is why we’re excited to introduce a new blue crayon colour inspired by the YInMn pigment, “ said Smith Holland CEO and president of Crayola.

“The new blue crayon will help Crayola to continue to inspire kids and kids at heart to create everything imaginable.”

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