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Why is a white shirt cooler than a darker one on a sunny day?

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A shirt that appears red absorbs the shorter wavelengths and reflects longer ones. The reverse is true for a blue shirt. So while a white, or lighter colored, shirt REFLECTS most of the visible wavelengths it is exposed to, a black or dark shirt ABSORBS more wavelengths. read more

Shirts reflect light. Darker colors have a lower thermal inertia than that of lighter colors. White colored objects emit more light than other colors while dark colors emit very little light. Dark colored objects emit much less light; pretty much negligible. Color is the reflection of varying wavelengths off of objects. read more

As the shirt absorbs all the light coming from sun and, say, a desk lamp, the energy carried by that light doesn't just disappear into the shirt, never to be seen again. Instead, as the light is absorbed, it gets converted to other forms of energy, usually heat, and then emitted by the shirt. read more

Asked by: Cameron Wilson Answer By 'cooler' I assume you are referring to temperature, not making a fashion statement. Sunlight consists of a mixture of all visible wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation (light). read more

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Wikipedia:

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Ch. 19: Reflection, Absorption, and Refraction of Light ...
Source: slideplayer.com

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