Do red objects heat up faster or absorb more heat than other colors?

Question

Do red objects heat up faster or absorb more heat than other colors?

3 Answers

Answer Question

Answer 1

The more light an object absorbs the more heat is absorved...because light is energy.

Black absorbs the most heat because all wavelengths of light are absorbed and nothing is reflected. (black is the absence of all colors)

Red reflects the energy from the red wavelengths away and therefore will not get as hot as black.

White would be the coolest object because it reflects the most energy away. (white is the presence of all colors)

Answer 2

Leesa Johnson answered

No other color can absorb more heat than the black color so it's clear that the red color can not absorb more heat.

Answer 3

I like Quizzer XSH's youtube link.

Here's another resource you might want to peruse:

"It is well known that when an object, such as a lump of metal, is heated, it glows; first a dull red, then as it becomes hotter, a brighter red, then bright orange, then a brilliant white. Although the brightness varies from one material to another, the colour (strictly spectral distribution) of the glow is essentially universal for all materials, and depends only on the temperature. In the idealised case, this is known as 'black body' or 'cavity' radiation, and is described by Planck's Radiation Law"

http://www.techmind.org/colour/coltemp.html