Why is it hotter when I’m wearing dark colored clothing (i.e. black) than wearing light colored clothing?
In: Physics
White deflects more visible light from the electromagnetic spectrum than black does. Light carries energy which adds kinetic energy to a system. That kinetic energy we perceive as heat, therefore we want to avoid that and use colors which “reflect” that energy instead of absorbing it.
Because white deflects energy while black absorbs. Same reason astronauts wear white space suits.
It’s been stated multiple times over already, but there’s another part to help in understanding. There’s light and then there’s pigments. Pigments are the colors you see in objects based on the wavelengths of light they reflect and absorb. White light spans multiple wavelengths and has all the colors in it. A white piece of clothing has no pigments because it is reflecting/deflecting light across the visible spectrum. When you’re outside and no light is present, it’s very dark and can sometimes be pitch black. No light. In that same way, black clothes absorb most of the wavelengths of light in the visible spectrum and don’t reflect much if anything back.
All that light that’s being absorbed will add energy, which generally gets converted to heat energy. That’s why dark clothes will make you feel hotter. iirc, it can be about a 4 degree F difference in temperatures between the 2.
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