Question

Why is black a good absorber?

Answer 1

How do we see colors:

1. When a light ray falls on any object, various phenomena takes place like reflection, refraction, absorption and scattering of light.
2. Due to these phenomena, the human eye and brain translates light into color.
3. When a light ray falls on an object, it reflects some of the colors and absorbs the rest. Some objects absorb more wavelengths and some less.

Black is a good absorber of heat:

1. A black body absorbs all the wavelengths of light that falls on it.
2. It absorbs light of every wavelength and do not reflect them.
3. They not only are good absorbers but good emitters too.
4. Since they absorb most of the visible light, they appear black in color.

Hence, black is a good absorber of heat.