Why Is Polar Bear Fur White

The hollow hair is great for thermal insulation but it also breaks the light in such a way that it looks white when the sun hits it.

Why is polar bear fur white. Polar bears have white fur so that they can camouflage into their environment. The polar bear s fur seems colourless and for many years scientists worked on the theory that the individual hairs act as fiber optics. Uv light also gets transmitted along the. Polar bears have white fur because it serves.

In fact a polar bear s skin is black and its hairs are hollow. They have a thick layer of body fat which keeps them warm while swimming and a double layered coat that insulates them from the cold arctic air. A polar bear has dark skin with hollow near colourless hair. Polar bear fur consists of a dense insulating undercoat which is topped by guard hairs of various lengths.

The bear s furs are hollow and transparent as a result of which they reflect sunlight from the snow. So why then do polar bears look white. The clear guard hairs have a hollow core that traps and reflects white light from the sun. The hair of a polar bear looks white because the air spaces in each hair scatter light of all colors.

When it hits a light scattering particle on the inside or salt on the outside the light breaks up even more and gets sent in all different directions. Their coat is so well camouflaged in arctic environments that it can sometimes pass as a snow drift. It is mainly because of reflection. The reflection indeed gives rise to white color.

In fact a polar bear s skin is black and its hairs are hollow. Their coat is so well camouflaged in arctic environments that it can sometimes pass as a snow drift. Polar bears are protected with 10 cm thick hide and dense fur which prevent the animal from getting cold. To recap when light shines on the polar bear s mostly clear guard hair some light gets trapped in the hair and bounces around creating luminescence.

Each shaft of hair is pigment free and transparent and has a hollow core which reflects visible light. While the hair is transparent it reflects the white light from the sun making the polar bears appear white in a similar way to snow and ice. That is why polar bears remain white all throughout the year. This light scattering gives off more white coloured light due to luminescence.

Polar bears skin is black and their fur is clear and transparent. Polar bears have white fur so that they can camouflage into their environment. So why does polar bear fur appear white when the hairs have no pigment. Polar bears are white but their hair is mostly clear.

Polar bears do not have white fur but semi transparent fur. Interestingly the polar bear s coat has no white pigment. Why do polar bears have white fur. Why is a polar bear white in colour.

It s a matter of optics. Interestingly the polar bear s coat has no white pigment.