Even a primary school student knows that two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom are part of a water molecule. However, if it gets on the fabric, the liquid makes it darker, although it would seem that wet clothes should not visually differ from dry clothes, because water does not have its own color. This phenomenon can be explained from a scientific point of view.
Why is clothing color?
First you need to understand why different fabrics differ in color, how it is set. The answer lies in the phenomenon of reflection of light rays. Light consists of a stream of white rays, which, when dispersed, decay into different colors absorbed by the surface in a collision. Depending on the relief, the composition of the substance, the density of the light flux, the rays hit the surface at a certain angle.
Because of this, part of the light is absorbed by the tissue, another is reflected, and the third is scattered. Only some light beams of different colors remain on the surface, which mix together and paint the material in a specific tone. For example, if clothes will let most of the light rays through, reflecting and scattering only yellow and blue tones, most likely the fabric will be dyed green.
It can also be noted that the human eye also distinguishes colors due to the reflection of light. For us, the T-shirt looks red, because the eyeball is able to recognize light of only this shade on its surface.Perhaps, in fact, the surrounding objects have different, more saturated and deep colors, just a person is not able to see them.
The right to exist of such a theory is given by the famous question about the dress, when some people see white and gold shades on it, others - black and blue. It depends on the structural features of the retina of a particular person.
Interesting fact: Wet cloth does not change the angle of reflection of light. If the angle changed, the wet section of clothing would not be darker, but a completely different color.
Why are wet clothes darker?
After explaining how color is formed on clothes, you can figure out why wet clothes get darker. This feature is also associated with light and its passage through surfaces.
If you wet the fabric, due to the low density of the threads and the wettability effect, part of the moisture will be absorbed into it and will remain there until it dries completely. Because of this, water on clothes forms a kind of film. Taking into account the fact that water has a higher angle of refraction, delays and reflects rays of light, it is easy to guess that wet tissue transmits less light. This reduces the number of rays passing on both sides of the material. Due to the fact that less light passes through the material, it becomes darker.
To fully understand the picture of what is happening, the following example is suitable. Bright sunlight penetrates the room through the window and illuminates the space. If you close the window with a translucent curtain, the light will also penetrate, but in a smaller amount.Because of this, the inside of the room will become darker. So the water appears in the form of a curtain, preventing the light from passing through the clothes. Also, a similar effect can be observed by placing a palm on the inside of the clothes: the area opposite the hand will become darker due to diminished light.
After the fabric dries, nothing prevents the rays from passing through it, and the wet region in the past becomes the same color as the rest of the surface.
Wet clothes become darker as moisture creates a film through which less sunlight penetrates. Because of this, the color of the material is darker.
