There's been a few recent query's about painting of radiators and brake
parts- Back in the days of my electronics education, we learned about the
heat dissipation characteristics of various types of heat sinks.
Some factors of import were surface area, air flow, thermal conductivity,
and of course, the colour. Since we're talking infra-red energy here, I
believe the most efficient colour was black, prefrably flat, followed by
silver shades. So, yes, even tho a coat of black paint might be thought of as
an insulating layer, the advantages gained from it's infra-red radiation
properties can result from an overall gain over bare metals.
Of course, you want only a thin enough layer of paint to be effective, and
protect the metal, not thick layers, which will begin to insulate the
device to some degree.
So, now you know why wood stoves, radiators, and some brake parts are painted
black.
________________________________________________________
Roger Garnett (Roger_Garnett@cornell.edu)
"The South Lansing Centre For Wayward Sports Cars"
|