UCSB Science Line
Sponge Spicules Nerve Cells Galaxy Abalone Shell Nickel Succinate X-ray Lens Lupine
UCSB Science Line
Home
How it Works
Ask a Question
Search Topics
Webcasts
Our Scientists
Science Links
Contact Information
Why do different colors absorb different amounts of heat?
Question Date: 2019-12-03
Answer 1:

Heat and light are both different types of energy. Light energy can be converted into heat energy. A black object absorbs all wavelengths of light and converts them into heat, so the object gets warm. A white object reflects all wavelengths of light, so the light is not converted into heat and the temperature of the object does not increase noticeably. Different wavelengths (colors) of light have different amounts of energy. Violet light has more energy than red light. If we compare an object that absorbs violet light with an object that absorbs the same number of photons (particles of light) of red light, then the object that absorbs violet light will absorb more heat than the object that absorbs red light. The amount of heat absorbed is also affected by how light or dark an object is. A dark object of a given color will absorb more photons than a light object of the same color, so it will absorb more heat and gets warmer.

Note about how the color of an object appears: The color an object appears is the complementary color to the color the object absorbs. If an object absorbs yellow light, then it will reflect all of the other colors of light and it will look violet.

Different wavelengths carry different amounts of energy per light particle("photon"), with blue being more energetic and red less. However, the total power output of a beam of light is equal to the amount of energy per photon *times* the *number* of photon.

You can read these answers on our database, on the following links:
link 1.
link 2.
link 3.



Click Here to return to the search form.

University of California, Santa Barbara Materials Research Laboratory National Science Foundation
This program is co-sponsored by the National Science Foundation and UCSB School-University Partnerships
Copyright © 2020 The Regents of the University of California,
All Rights Reserved.
UCSB Terms of Use