Why do things appear darker when they are wet?

3 May 2018, 17:39

People in rain
People in rain. Picture: pxhere

Ever considered why your clothes go dark when you get caught in the rain?

Mystery Hour Question

Why do wet things look darker?

Rodney, Bradford

Answer

** Definitive **


Name: Kevin, Cambridge


Qualification: In my computer and game programming degree we had to write programme for wet surfaces


Answer: Every surface reflects light. When a porous surface becomes wet the light gets trapped between the water layer and the surface layer. Less light is being reflected which makes the object appear darker.