Have you ever noticed how wet things always look darker than when they are dry? It's a common observation, but why does it happen?

In this episode, we're exploring the underlying physics of how light interacts with materials to explain this phenomenon. When a material gets wet, water fills the spaces within it. Because water has a higher index of refraction than air, less light is reflected away from the surface, and more light is able to enter the material. This light then travels deeper and is absorbed more by both the material and the water.