The color of clothes may be more important than their length or material when absorbing heat on sunny days. A long-sleeved white shirt can make one feel cooler than a short-sleeved black shirt. It is all due to color, so what is the relationship of color that leads to heat absorption, or light?
The relationship between color and light
Light is known as a form of electromagnetic radiation transmitted from a light source in the form of waves. Although we see sunlight as a single bright color, it includes many different wavelengths and colors depending on the frequency of the waves, with some wavelengths falling within the visible light range of the human eye and some wavelengths not visible to the eye.
The color of any object appears depends on the wavelengths it absorbs from the incoming light, so color is just a measure of what the object absorbs or reflects from the wavelength spectrum of white light, so the object appears in the color of wavelengths it does not absorb and reflects, enabling our eyes to see it.
The relationship between light and temperature
Heat is a measure of the movement of particles in an object, so the more particles are in motion, the hotter the object becomes. When an object absorbs radiative energy, its particles oscillate according to the wavelength of the electromagnetic radiation, resulting in increased temperature along with increased particle motion. Therefore, an object that absorbs more radiation wavelengths will generate more heat.
Even objects that reflect all colors still absorb some radiation wavelengths, with infrared radiation being the longest wavelength among them, though it is not visible to the human eye except through feeling heat. And because light is absorbed and converted into thermal energy, dark colored objects feel hotter when exposed to sunlight, while other colors are?
White and black colors
White objects reflect all visible light wavelengths, so we feel less heat from the sun, while black objects absorb all visible wavelengths so we feel more heat from the sun. However, even white objects also gain heat through infrared radiation, so no color is completely non-attractive to light, absorption of heat.
The relationship of other colors with heat absorption
Unlike black and white, the heat attraction of other colored objects depends on the number of wavelengths they reflect from visible light, with higher frequency wavelengths producing darker colors leading to more heat absorption. Red objects have the lowest temperature after white, followed by orange-yellow-green-blue-violet, and purple attracts the most heat of any visible color – except black. Choosing color of clothing outdoors depends on weather temperature
When choosing clothing colors for hot summer or cold winter weather, remember these two basic rules:
- White, red and yellow are most suitable for warmer months when you want to avoid attracting more heat.
- In colder months, blue-purple-black are best if you want to retain heat as much as possible, and now you should avoid wearing white clothes on cold days. Considering tone, darker navy blue, purple will absorb more heat than lighter colors.
