Why are some things darker when wet?
aryankashyap.com
Why are some things darker when wet?
1–10 of 171 posts
Re: Why are some things darker when wet?
#2Related Q/A on physics.SE: https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/30366/why-do-wet...
Re: Why are some things darker when wet?
#3Is this a gimmick to boost your seo?
Re: Why are some things darker when wet?
#4Is this a gimmick to boost your seo?
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Re: Why are some things darker when wet?
#5Short version: It changes the refraction index and less photons bounce of in the direction of the observer, so it looks darker.
Re: Why are some things darker when wet?
#6Short version: It changes the refraction index and less photons bounce of in the direction of the observer, so it looks darker.
How does it manage to direct the photons away from the observer?
I mean, it obviously doesn't know where they stand.
Re: Why are some things darker when wet?
#7Short version: It changes the refraction index and less photons bounce of in the direction of the observer, so it looks darker.
How does it manage to direct the photons away from the observer? I mean, it obviously doesn't know where they stand.
It directs them into a more specific spot from which the material appears bright. This is why wet things can look "shiny".
Re: Why are some things darker when wet?
#8Wow, is this the same reason why you're more prone to sunburn if you have water on you or are in a swimming pool? Does the light refracted under the surface of the water bounce around and hit your skin multiple times?
Re: Why are some things darker when wet?
#9> Once you spill water on the shirt, that part of the shirt is now covered with a thin film of water. So, any light which has to reflect off that part of the shirt has to go through water.
> Before water is spilt, 100% of the light travelling towards that part of the shirt will hit the surface. But now only a fraction of the light moving towards it will hit its surface. This is because the light now has a layer of water to go through. And due to the reflectance of water, not all light at the air-liquid-interface (border between air and water) goes through the water. Some of it is reflected.
This is not clear, or at least needs another step. It is saying that part of the reason the shirt looks darker is because some of the light never had a chance to reflect off the shirt, because it reflected off the water first. But the observer only cares whether light is reflected at all, not whether it reflected off the shirt or the water.
I assume the unwritten part is that this specular reflection is only reflecting light in one direction, instead of diffusely, so if the observer is not in that line of reflection, they won't see the light. But this explanation seems wrong to me, as it implies that a wet shirt will have some brighter highlights at some angles, and yet I have never seen this.
Re: Why are some things darker when wet?
#10Wow, is this the same reason why you're more prone to sunburn if you have water on you or are in a swimming pool? Does the light refracted under the surface of the water bounce around and hit your skin multiple times?
Yes, the water drops on the surface of the skin act as mini lens.