Question
A student puts a piece of black paper and a piece of white paper in the same sunny spot. After 30 minutes, she observes that the black paper feels warmer than the white paper.
Answers
Answered by
GPT 3.5
The reason why the black paper feels warmer than the white paper is due to differences in their absorption and reflection of light.
Black objects appear black because they absorb almost all the light that strikes them, converting it into heat energy. When sunlight falls on the black paper, it absorbs a significant amount of the light energy, which causes the paper to heat up.
On the other hand, white objects appear white because they reflect most of the light that strikes them. When sunlight falls on the white paper, it reflects a majority of the light energy, causing less energy to be absorbed by the paper. As a result, the white paper does not heat up as much as the black paper.
Therefore, after 30 minutes in the same sunny spot, the black paper feels warmer than the white paper because it has absorbed more light energy and converted it into heat.
Black objects appear black because they absorb almost all the light that strikes them, converting it into heat energy. When sunlight falls on the black paper, it absorbs a significant amount of the light energy, which causes the paper to heat up.
On the other hand, white objects appear white because they reflect most of the light that strikes them. When sunlight falls on the white paper, it reflects a majority of the light energy, causing less energy to be absorbed by the paper. As a result, the white paper does not heat up as much as the black paper.
Therefore, after 30 minutes in the same sunny spot, the black paper feels warmer than the white paper because it has absorbed more light energy and converted it into heat.