Final Class Experiment

During our last class, we got to try our hands at the other groups' experiments. I found the experiment on radiation and color to be the most interesting. The experiment was fairly practical and hands-on in that it just required thermometers, colored lenses and a heating lamp. The intentions of the process were to see which colors would absorb the most radiation and thus maintain a lower temperature for, say, a residential house.

The four colors chosen were blue, green, black and red - each lens covering a small thermometer. Each thermometer was set at 27 degrees and was heated by the lamp for approximately twenty minutes. Initially, I figured that green would possibly be the most efficient option for absorbing the radiation because most photosynthetic plants are green. At the end of the experiment I found that I had guessed correctly - however, the reason green is so efficient at absorbing the heat was because it's midway in the color spectrum. This was definitely an interesting experiment in terms of thinking of new ways of contemporary innovation and maintaining sustainable energy on a personal/residential level. I might be painting my next house green!