Does black stainless radiate heat better than clean metal?

[karl]

So are you saying a black car will be cooler than a white car in the summer because it will radiate it's heat outside better? How about a silver car?

 

[KeithO]

Since the sun radiates stronger than the black car, no. The same rule applies in reverse in that a surface with high emissivity will also absorb more heat that a more reflective surface. So in your analogy, the silver car will absorb less heat than a black car, something most people know intuitively. In the case of the stovepipe, we are talking about an internally heated object that is much hotter than ambient temperature.

To put this in perspective: Assume you are sitting in a chair in front of a black stovepipe. If you wore silver clothing, you would be cooler than if you wore black clothing. If the black stovepipe was changed to a stainless polished stovepipe, you would be cooler wearing black clothes than you were when sitting in front of a black stovepipe, since the radiant energy leaving the pipe has been reduced.

Hope this makes sense....

So are you saying a black car will be cooler than a white car in the summer because it will radiate it's heat outside better? How about a silver car?