I have a black car and a white car. It’s a sunny, 95-degree day.
The white car’s paint is warm to the touch while obviously the black car’s paint is extremely hot to the touch. I get that the black paint is absorbing most of the the sun’s light energy, which gets converted to heat. But the white paint is clearly being warmed by the sun to some degree as well. Is this because the white paint is not an absolutely pure white that reflects back 100% of the sun’s light energy, i.e., it still absorbs some small amount? Or is the warmth I’m feeling on the white car’s paint basically just the air temperature?
In: Physics
1. The car absorbs heat from the environment. At night, it will be the same temperature as the air around it, when it’s 100° outside during the daytime, even if you parked your car in the shade, the surface would be 100°.
2. Yes, the white paint isn’t reflecting 100% of the light
3. Light isn’t the only thing the sun radiates, it also radiates infrared radiation.
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