Some scientists really blew it. They accidentally created a new blue pigment by doping white and black compounds with manganese. The new blue may end up in a variety of paints and inks, perhaps replacing some old standby pigments that can be toxic or unstable.
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/11475.jpg?resize=300%2C150&ssl=1)
Scientists led by Mas Subramanian of Oregon State University in Corvallis were studying manganese oxides because of the compounds’ interesting magnetic and electronic properties. When a tray of samples came out of the furnace where they had been baking at about 1,200 degrees Celsius, the powders emerged a startling blue.
“I’ve never seen a manganese oxide give rise to such beautiful colors,” says Subramanian. “When I saw the compound come out it was so beautifully blue.”