[NobodySavedMe (OP)]

The other night I saw a short stretch of road which was white and it was well illuminated from standard night lamps almost as if it was daylight due to reflection from the white surface.

Thus it occurs to me that making new roads white instead of asphalt black could save a huge amount in night illumination and thus reduce energy consumption and the dubious global warming we are being brain washed daily with.

Old roads could easily be painted or chalked over to make them white.

I note also that the underside passages of railway bridges are are also painted black by ignorant,railway idiots and illumination is thus very poor despite lights being on all the time.
Merely by painting it white would reduce this gloominess and save consumption.

Another physicist to whom I spoke also claimed that the increasing numbers of black population people could also contribute to global warming as black skin absorbes radiation more quickly and hence contribute to global warming.as more energy is more quickly absorbed then a white reflective surface.In other words the albedo of the planet is decreasing.

Before people start getting on their high horses and start calling me racist,this is merely physics,look it up..It is well known as black body radiation.

In essence the increasing amount of black roads being constructed and also an increasing black population would increase the amount of black body radiation being absorbed.

No doubt this could be easily be proved simply by holding up a piece of black card board and white cardboard to the sun.You will be shocked how quickly the black card board warms up.

Also you could touch a black car and a white car and you will see a huge temperature difference of at least 20 degrees.

Hence the solution to reduce energy consumption and global warming is to make roads white and make blacks wear white clothes.

[Chemistry4me]

Another physicist to whom I spoke also claimed that the increasing numbers of black population people could also contribute to global warming as black skin absorbes radiation more quickly and hence contribute to global warming.

But it is racist!

No doubt this could be easily be proved simply by holding up a piece of black card board and white cardboard to the sun. You will be shocked how quickly the black card board warms up.

But black coloured objects loses heat quicker as well

[DoctorBeaver]

I wouldn't think there is enough area of road surface to make any difference. Even a few thousand feet above the ground they are invisible. Look down next time you are flying over land. You can't see any roads.

[daveshorts]

The other problem is that tyres are black, and as they wear down the deposit black stuff over everything. Though in hot places painting rooves white is supposed to make quite a difference locally, both becasue it reflects more of the heat, and because this means that you don't need so much air conditioning you are dumping less heat into the atmoshpere.

[turnipsock]

Another problem is that speed bumps are white and if the rest of the road was white, we wouldn't see the speed bumps.

Zebra crossings could also be a bit of a grey area.

[Chemistry4me]

Isn't the problem with Global Warming that the sunlight cannot exit the Earths atmosphere, so having more white roads will mean that more light is reflected but that'll also mean that less of it can leave the Earths atmosphere. [][][]

[Bored chemist]

The global warming problem is that IR can't leave. Visible light can so painting the planet white would cool it.

[Chemistry4me]

Whoa!  [] So white coloured objects can't reflect IR, I did not know that... []

[Don_1]

So we whitewash the world for summer, and during the winter months when we actually want to absorb as much heat as possible from the sun's rays to keep warm, we paint it black again eh!

A white road surface would cost a huge amount of money (not to mention environmental cost) to maintain and would, therefore, be counterproductive.

As for the underside of bridges, I would agree that these could be improved by a mat white coating, as could tunnels, but it would need careful consideration to ensure that such a lining does not result in glare from reflected headlamps causing problems and the sudden change in light when entering and exiting does cause problems while the eye adjusts to the different light intensity.

[BenV]

Also, driving along a black, wet, road on a sunny day can be distracting enough for drivers - imagine if even a dull day could cause glare from the road surface - there would be a great deal more accidents.

Still, maybe that would force people to drive with more caution - not, in itself, a bad thing.

[lyner]

Another physicist to whom I spoke also claimed that the increasing numbers of black population people could also contribute to global warming as black skin absorbes radiation more quickly and hence contribute to global warming.

But it is racist!

"Racist"? What do you understand the word racist means?

The original statement was (very marginally) true and involved no judgement, prejudice or criticism. How does that make it "racist"? The Science was pretty poor though. He clearly hadn't worked through the numbers involved.

[lyner]

Paint every roof and every spare bit of open ground / desert but not roads; that would generate more problems than it would solve.

[Chemistry4me]

Ops, I notice that I've misquoted something [:I] Is that stuff about the

It is well known as black body radiation

true?

[dentstudent]

Another physicist to whom I spoke also claimed that the increasing numbers of black population people could also contribute to global warming as black skin absorbes radiation more quickly and hence contribute to global warming.

But it is racist!

"Racist"? What do you understand the word racist means?

The original statement was (very marginally) true and involved no judgement, prejudice or criticism. How does that make it "racist"? The Science was pretty poor though. He clearly hadn't worked through the numbers involved.

Or the fact that most people don't walk around naked. (Apart from scientists, of course.) If black people wear white, it rather negates the effect, don't you think? I have very dark hair, and generally wear dark colours. I'm also white. I probably have a greater effect then. The colour of one's skin is therefore almost certainly not the question.

[Chemistry4me]

Did anyone else notice that the topic of this thread is spelt wrong?

[Don_1]

Did anyone else notice that the topic of this thread is spelt wrong?

Well FOGGED sir, no I didn't, I must be getting complacent.

[dentstudent]

Did anyone else notice that the topic of this thread is spelt wrong?

Well FOGGED sir, no I didn't, I must be getting complacent.

Have you noticed the fewer "FOGS" recently?  I wonder if the level of grammar has improved...

[Don_1]

Did anyone else notice that the topic of this thread is spelt wrong?

Well FOGGED sir, no I didn't, I must be getting complacent.

Have you noticed the fewer "FOGS" recently?  I wonder if the level of grammar has improved...

Are you implying that FOGGING has actually achieved something?

Surely that can't be true.

(I know, don't call me Shirley)

[dentstudent]

Stranger things have happened. That horse becoming Pope, for one.

[BenV]

'Warmining' is a new phenomenon.  []

Actually, it's a very nice word to pronounce.

Warm-in-ing...