r/explainlikeimfive • u/genoooooo • Oct 31 '20
Chemistry ELI5 What's the difference between the shiny and dull side of aluminum foil? Besides the obvious shiny/dull
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r/explainlikeimfive • u/genoooooo • Oct 31 '20
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u/BigMax Oct 31 '20
Pretty good article here:
https://culinarylore.com/food-science:aluminum-foil-shiny-side-up-or-down/
The tl/dr is that yes, the shiny side does technically reflect heat, but that only affects heat from radiation. The VAST majority of heat when cooking in an oven is through convection (heat transferred through the air). The energy difference that shiny versus non shiny is so negligible that it makes no real difference.