If reflective surfaces deflect light, and metal is reflective, then why does it get so much hotter in the sun than an all black surface?

Question

If reflective surfaces deflect light, and metal is reflective, then why does it get so much hotter in the sun than an all black surface?

In: Physics

Answer 1

when lights a solid many interactions can happen between them, reflection is just one of them. When we say something is reflective we mean that a large portion of the light which hits the solid is reflection, but this will never be 100% of the light. Some of the light will be absorbed or will pass through the solid (like with glass).

Metals tend to have low specific heat capacities, which means that you dont need a lot of energy to raise their temperature. So metals will absorb some of the light emitted by the sun and convert it to heat and because you not much energy is needed to heat up metals they will get hot quickly.