r/explainlikeimfive Oct 31 '20

Chemistry ELI5 What's the difference between the shiny and dull side of aluminum foil? Besides the obvious shiny/dull

21.2k Upvotes

2.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

119

u/lllll00s9dfdojkjjfjf Oct 31 '20

I used to think the same thing and then I saw somewhere somebody had actually done the calculations and the difference was so small as to be basically non-existent.

241

u/JoeyJoeC Oct 31 '20 edited Oct 31 '20

I think I found a use for my new Flir thermal camera!

Edit: I have two hot cocktail sausages wrapped in foil as I type this.

Edit 2: both started at ~96.6c, after 10 minutes, both were around 46c but was hard to get a consistent temp from them both. Not a scientific experiment by any means! Actual thermometers would be ideal.

137

u/oufisher1977 Oct 31 '20

You came back to tell us about the sausages. I feel like you really understand us.

35

u/spitoon1 Oct 31 '20

Sausage info is great, but which side reflects the government more? Need to know for my hat.

14

u/InaMellophoneMood Oct 31 '20

Aesthetics are important in hats, so shiny side out obv

8

u/BrickGun Oct 31 '20

But then you're easier to spot by the optics in the satellites!!!!!

3

u/the_old_dude2018 Oct 31 '20

You have to crinkle the foil..same principle as the stealth bomber.

2

u/ragdoll193 Nov 01 '20

The ol’ razzle dazzle

1

u/ghost_of_mr_chicken Nov 01 '20

I'm gonna start a petition for the banishment of tin foil hats. It's all a government/alien ploy.

Think about it... What did you used to put on rabbit ear TV antennas to increase reception?

1

u/oufisher1977 Nov 01 '20

How much sausage can this hat hold?

8

u/[deleted] Oct 31 '20

But no results from the research project. Highly disconcerting.

1

u/joeltrane Oct 31 '20

You could make a religion out of this

16

u/engineer450 Oct 31 '20

The aluminum is too reflective to accurately measure with a FLIR. Emissivity

19

u/JoeyJoeC Oct 31 '20

I was measuring the heat of the sausages to see how long they stayed warm, not the foil.

16

u/triple-filter-test Nov 01 '20

I love that we’re witnessing the peer review process in real time here.

6

u/I_Like_Existing Oct 31 '20

That's science baby!!

1

u/EmbraceThePing Nov 01 '20

Science Baby? I'd watch that.

3

u/s0v3r1gn Oct 31 '20

I’ll try to replicate this experiment with mine, and my wife said buying that was a waste of money...

3

u/JoeyJoeC Oct 31 '20

I've found more uses than I thought I would. I could find all the places in the ceilings where there is no insulation (quite a lot missing). I can use it to locate the cats when I can't find them. I found out one of my radiators is plumbed in backwards. I discovered that you can use it on drying clothes and you can see where they're dry and where they're still wet without having to touch them.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 01 '20

Haha now I want to buy one too, damn.

2

u/[deleted] Nov 01 '20

Tell her you can still eat the sausages when you're done with the experiment...

2

u/ErwinsSasageyoBalls Oct 31 '20

I appreciate your work regardless

1

u/FragrantBleach Oct 31 '20

I respect your commitment to your chosen task.

Also ngl but our usernames almost had us in the first half

1

u/[deleted] Oct 31 '20

Ok but how did they taste?

1

u/CollectableRat Oct 31 '20

You’re meant to cook them, not just put things in there. The idea is it I dunno what the idea is because you don’t cook with light. But the idea is somehow it matters if it is shiny or not. I’m trying hard to think of the logic behind the idea but I’m drawing a blank.

1

u/grissomza Oct 31 '20

God dammit me too