If you compare 2 metal blocks, one black and one white, the independent variable you have changed is the interaction the outer surface has with (at least) visible light, hence the colour difference. Does this same colour difference affect how that surface interacts with infrared radiation?
I’ve seen many posts debating if colour of cookware affects thermal conductivity but most arguments link back to the colour of clothes and buildings warming differently in sunlight. With these scenarios the different coloured clothes/ buildings are exposed to (amongst others) infrared and visible light from the sun. I don’t know if both, or just one or the other, is predominantly affecting heat transfer. I think it should just/ largely be infrared since LEDs and energy efficient lights with little warming effect don’t burn your skin, suggesting visible light itself doesn’t affect the temperature of something (much?).
I’ve been thinking about what would happen if you put a light coloured cooking pan and a dark cooking pan of the same material in an oven with no light - would they warm differently now that the only source of energy is infrared radiation? What would happen if you shone equal intensity light at 2 objects of different colours but you could guarantee no compounding effect from any thermal radiation from the light source? Would the light itself be enough to warm the objects at different rates?
