Question #fd2f4
1 Answer
I'd agree with your guess. Black objects absorb light and white objects reflect it. When a place is flying above the clouds it's subjected to direct sunlight. With less atmosphere to absorb the light, it's also more intense. I'd say black planes would become uncomfortably warm unless heavy and energy consuming cooling systems were included.
Explanation:
I'd agree with your guess. Black objects absorb light and white objects reflect it. When a place is flying above the clouds it's subjected to direct sunlight. With less atmosphere to absorb the light, it's also more intense. Thus I'd say black planes would become uncomfortably warm unless heavy and energy consuming cooling systems were included.
Note that some military planes (e.g. B2 Spirit aka Stealth Bomber) are black for precisely the opposite reason: it's advantageous for them to absorb light. Radio waves are a form of electromagnetic radiation, as is light. Thus black planes absorb more radio waves and are more difficult to detect by radar (which uses radio waves). Civil aircraft do want to be clearly seen by radar, so this could be another reason why they are white.
Cooling isn't such as issue with military aircraft as they typically have a small crew of 1 or 2 people. The crew can be cooled with special flight suits. This doesn't require much energy compared to cooling the large cabin of a passenger aircraft.
