Someone mentioned that black is the best color for an engine because it disipates(sp) heat quickly. Any truth to this?

 

hmm...i wouldnt think so since black absorbes heat?

 

That thought accured to me too.

 

ultra absorbant for your comfort, or something.

 

Eww gross.

On a serious note.......doesn't black absorb the most heat in the sun. I mean since black is all the colors of the spectrum it can absorb them all, this would have nothing to do with heat created from an engine block

--Joe

 

very true, that thought had occured, but would it block radiation coming from inside the block? i just think that maybe ford paint them black because they got a good deal on black paint

 

Back in high school that was "common knowledge "that black was better but I still always did my motors Ford Blue. So is it true????????

 

For radiant energy:

It is quite difficult comparing colors, because the surface texture also influences the adsorbtion and emission. However, if you could have equal surface texture, black emits the most and adsorbs the most. This means, on a sunny day, a chrome strip on a bumper will be hotter than the black matarial surrounding the window. Why ?

The chrome adsorbs very little, but none of it can be radiated away. The black adsorbs a lot, and radiates almost all of it away.

Say we have a number of hot masses, like engine blocks painted different colors. With the surfaces being at the same temperature, and no additional radiant energy input, the black surface will radiate more energy than any other color.

If radiation is the primary energy source, paint it the color that adsorbs least in the frequency of the radiation...

Math:
http://www.phys.virginia.edu/CLASSES...radiation.html