ELI5; Why is dark skin selected for when you’re in the sun a lot? Dark colors absorbs most visible light, while white reflects it. Is it different for UV light?
In: Biology
Yes it’s different.
It’s not about adsorbing light it’s about absorbing less uv radiation, which is what dark skin does thanks to the melanin.
Fun fact – Very early humans ancestors were actually light skinned, but then we began developing sweat glans and losing hair to survive.
But obviously the African sun isn’t too kind to fair skin so by the time homo sapiens were around we were all dark skinned.
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