and a shiny white surface.
A thermometer is placed at the same distance from both surfaces.
gcsescience.com 10 gcsescience.com
How does the Surface of an Object
Affect the Absorption
and Emission of Infra-red
Radiation?
An object with a matt
(dull) surface will absorb and emit
infra-red
radiation at a faster rate than an object with a shiny
surface.
An object with a dark surface will
absorb and emit
infra-red radiation at a faster
rate than an object with a
light surface.
Radiation is also reflected at the
surface.
Imagine a hot piece
of metal which has a matt black surface
and a shiny white surface.
A thermometer is placed at the
same distance from both
surfaces.
The thermometer next to the matt
black surface shows a
higher temperature because it
emits radiation at a faster rate.
Heat leaves the metal more
quickly through
the matt black
surface than the shiny white surface.
Part of the space shuttle is covered in matt black tiles.
These help the craft to lose
heat from its surface when
it re-enters the Earth's
atmosphere on returning from
space.
The space shuttle gets very hot in the
Earth's
atmosphere in the same way that meteors do.
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