Re: Why does fabric look dark when it's wet?
Re: Why does fabric look dark when it's wet?
- Subject: Re: Why does fabric look dark when it's wet?
- From: "Stephen P. Clark" <email@hidden>
- Date: Mon, 17 May 2004 12:01:50 -0500
On Monday, May 17, 2004, at 11:12 AM, John MacDonald wrote:
A friend of mine is a reference librarian. She was once asked to
settle a bar bet by answering the following question: Why does fabric
look dark when it's wet? Unfortunately, she couldn't find the answer
but is still curious. Can anyone explain it?
My take on this is that:
Fabric, when wet, looks darker because the fabric's fibers are
diffusing less the light waves they reflect. In some cases they may
also be laying more tightly packed together, in others they may be
"bridged" by the moisture causing them essentially to bind together.
The net effect is to reduce the amount of diffuse reflected light.
There's also an element of fewer surface interfaces to consider; the
more media transitions light has to cross over, the less light gets
diffused.
Most other materials function similarly: road & sidewalk pavement,
ground soil, wood, stone, etc.
Steve Clark
Chicago
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