Question

Loose-fitting white clothing covering most of the body is ideal for desert dwellers, both in the hot Sun and during cold evenings. Explain how such clothing is advantageous during both day and night

Short answer

Loose-fitting white clothes are advantageous because they limit the amount of heat entering the body during the daytime and the heat going out of the body during the cold evening.

Step-by-step solution

Explain how loose-fitting white clothing is advantageous during the daytime.

One of the advantages of clothing is that it helps to shield the body from radiation from the sun. During the daytime, the radiation will be higher. So, if you are wearing white clothing, it can reflect back this radiation and can limit the heat from entering the body.

Loose-fitting also has the advantage that it increases space between the cloth and the body. So, heat transfer through conduction will be reduced because direct contact between two bodies is required for the conduction of heat.

Explain how loose-fitting white clothing is advantageous during a cold evening

Your body temperature will be higher than the external environment during the cold evenings. So, the heat will go out of your body and you will experience coolness. This effect can be reduced by wearing loose-fitting white clothes.

Since white reflects the heat, it limits theheat that can go out of the clothing. The heat will remain inside the clothing.Loose-fitting limits the heat transfer through conduction because of the space between the body and clothing. So, heat flow towards the cloth will be limited.

Thus, loose-fitting white helps the desert dwellers by limiting the amount of heat entering their bodies during the daytime and the heat going out of their bodies during the cold evening.