Radiative Properties of Polar Bear Hair

Jessica A. Preciado, Boris Rubinsky, David Otten, Brent Nelson, Michael C. Martin, Ralph Greif
2002 Advances in Bioengineering   unpublished
INTRODUCTION The polar bear's ability to survive in the harsh arctic night fascinates scientific and lay audiences alike, giving rise to anecdotal and semi-factual stories on the radiative properties of the bear's fur which permeate the popular literature, television programs, and textbooks [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] . One of the most interesting radiative properties of polar bear fur is that it is invisible in the infrared region. Some theories have attempted to explain this by claiming that the
more » ... temperature of the fur is the same as that of the environment. However, this explanation is unsatisfactory because surface radiation depends on both the surface temperature and the surface radiative properties [6] . Although an extensive literature search revealed that most arctic fauna have highly emissive fur [7], a study on polar bears has never been conducted. In addition to this, the majority of previous research has focused on the bulk radiative properties of arctic animal fur in the ultraviolet range. Since most animal radiative heat loss occurs in the infrared range, we feel research in this area will yield useful insights into applications concerned with the effects of radiative heat loss.
doi:10.1115/imece2002-32473 fatcat:vg4ysxlsybentgsmzekofmac6m