Colors and Absorption of Heat
Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 8:13 pm
My experiment was testing the the heat absorption of colors. I used glass quart canning jars with water, lid, and a heat lamp. I wrapped quart jars with various colors of construction paper and then set each jar 18" from a heat lamp for 30 minutes and measured the temperatures at the end of 30 minutes. (Each jar was done one at a time).
For a second test, I used glass quart canning jars, with lids, but colored the water with food coloring and did not wrap the jar with construction paper.
The heat temperatures for the jars containing water and food coloring were anywhere from 7-9 degrees higher than the jars that I wrapped with construction paper. (Same test was used, 18" from heat lamp, lids, and heat for 30 minutes).
I would like to know if my hypothesis is correct that the construction paper acted as an insulator and/or filter of the heat light and that is why the jars covered with construction paper had lower temperatures than the jars without construction paper, but colored water.
I also have a question regarding the construction paper wrapped jars. Black, purple and blue had the highest temperatures. I was surprised to see that orange was very close to the temperatures of black, purple and blue. I don't understand why orange also had a high temperature. Would you have an explanation as to why the jar with the orange construction paper wrapping would measure similar temperatures as the black, purple, and blue construction paper wrapped jars?
Thank you.
For a second test, I used glass quart canning jars, with lids, but colored the water with food coloring and did not wrap the jar with construction paper.
The heat temperatures for the jars containing water and food coloring were anywhere from 7-9 degrees higher than the jars that I wrapped with construction paper. (Same test was used, 18" from heat lamp, lids, and heat for 30 minutes).
I would like to know if my hypothesis is correct that the construction paper acted as an insulator and/or filter of the heat light and that is why the jars covered with construction paper had lower temperatures than the jars without construction paper, but colored water.
I also have a question regarding the construction paper wrapped jars. Black, purple and blue had the highest temperatures. I was surprised to see that orange was very close to the temperatures of black, purple and blue. I don't understand why orange also had a high temperature. Would you have an explanation as to why the jar with the orange construction paper wrapping would measure similar temperatures as the black, purple, and blue construction paper wrapped jars?
Thank you.