Why do the tuaregs wear dark blue?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on the reasons behind the Tuareg people's choice to wear dark blue clothing in the Sahel/Sahara region. Participants explore various explanations, including cultural, thermodynamic, and practical considerations related to heat and moisture management.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest that dark clothing may help maintain water balance and manage heat, while questioning whether dark colors absorb more energy than lighter colors.
  • Others propose that the choice of dark blue may be more cultural than thermodynamic, noting that clothing often serves as an identifying uniform for different groups.
  • A participant mentions that dark blue clothing could reduce UV radiation exposure and that covering the mouth and nose helps maintain moisture in the air breathed.
  • Another viewpoint suggests that loose-fitting dark clothing allows for convective cooling when the air around the body becomes warmer than the outside air.
  • Some participants discuss the properties of water, debating whether it is blue or clear, and how this relates to the color of clothing.
  • One participant shares anecdotal evidence from fieldwork suggesting that wearing black robes in hot climates may facilitate cooling through convection.
  • Another perspective is that dark colors might help conceal sweat stains, adding a practical reason for their use in hot climates.
  • It is also noted that the availability of dyes may influence the specific choice of dark blue rather than pure black.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views on the reasons for wearing dark blue clothing, with no consensus reached. The discussion includes both cultural and thermodynamic explanations, highlighting the complexity of the topic.

Contextual Notes

Some claims about the thermodynamic properties of clothing and the effects of color on heat absorption remain unresolved, with various assumptions and conditions expressed by participants.

temujin
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Why do the tuaregs wear dark blue..?

Hi,

I tried to find a suitable forum for this question...this seemed to be the most appropriate.

The Tuaregs living in the Sahel/Sahara region in North Africa cover their body completely in dark dark blue clothing. A long time ago I read somewhere that covering their entire body in this color is the best way to keep the water balance and the heat away.
Does anyone know the physical explanation behind this.? Does not dark clothes absorb more energy than white clothes (so wearing dark clothes should be much warmer)...?


regards
t.
 
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I don't know where this question belongs either, but you'll probably get better response in General Physics.
 
hmm? water is actually blue, but it's only noticable at large quantities, and the body is somethinbg like 70% water, so perhaps that has something to do with it
 
It makes them look all pretty so they feel satisfied.
 
Yes, I think the explanation is more likely to be cultural rather than thermodynamic. Many 'tribes' (in the widest sense) use clothing as an identifying uniform (blue jeans?). If the blue had any intrinsic value then everyone in such climates would have adopted it.
 
I think that the reason is when the air around their bodies becomes warmer than the outside air it starts to circulate (pressure difference) and then they feel more comfortable.
 
temujin,
Tuaregs wear dark blue clothes aim at reducing the effect of UV radiation from the Sun. Also, they always have a cloth around their mouth and nose to keep a moist flow of air as they breathe. I think it is this piece of cloth that keeps the water balance and heat away.
 
BTW,the water,pure chemical dihydrogen monoxyde,is incolor.

Daniel.
 
hi again

finally, I found the answer somewhere on the web.
I´ll post it here in case somebody might be interested.

Black clothes absorb more sunlight and heat radiated from the body than white clothes. However,if they are loose-fitting, and there is wind, the wind convects the heat away faster than it is absorbed. White clothing reflects sunlight, but also reflects internal heat back towards your body, so the net effect under identical conditions is less cooling than with black clothes...



t.
 
  • #10
so in hot conditions you should have a dark inner layer and a light outer layer?
 
  • #11
That´s what I was thinking as well.

Some stuff related to this is here:

http://www.politikforum.de/forum/archive/29/2005/03/3/97240

t.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #12
hexhunter said:
hmm? water is actually blue, but it's only noticable at large quantities, and the body is somethinbg like 70% water, so perhaps that has something to do with it


WHAT? Water is NOT blue, this is the most elementary basic knowledge! water is clear, it reflects the blue of the sky, which is blue because of the gas molecules dispursing the blue region of the EM spectrum!
 
  • #13
the color of water

Ryan Lucas said:
WHAT? Water is NOT blue, this is the most elementary basic knowledge!
Actually, water is blue. http://www.dartmouth.edu/~etrnsfer/water.htm
 
  • #14
Doc Al said:
Actually, water is blue.
That's a very interesting link. Thanks, Doc.
 
  • #15
temujin said:
Black clothes absorb more sunlight and heat radiated from the body than white clothes. However,if they are loose-fitting, and there is wind, the wind convects the heat away faster than it is absorbed. White clothing reflects sunlight, but also reflects internal heat back towards your body, so the net effect under identical conditions is less cooling than with black clothes...

I have a cousin who did some field work for archaeology in the Middle East, and he claimed that this was the reason that they wore black robes. He also did say that once the air inside your clothes got warm enough it started expanding outward, and that the net effect was sort of like a constant wind blowing through your clothes, cooling you off.
 
Last edited:
  • #16
So is this to say that an ocean on a planet without an atmosphere would still be blue? Very interesting, thanks Doc!
 
  • #17
Thanks for correcting me Doc, very interesting read! Thanks
 
  • #18
and another good reason for wearing black in hot climate is that nobody can see these big sweat spots on your back and under your arms
:-)

t.
 
  • #19
It might be irrelevant at this point, but as to the question of why dark blue, it might just be that this particular culture (about which I know nothing) doesn't have ready access to truly black dyes.
 
  • #20
I always understood that the cultures in warmer climates were dark colours because they move in the shade, and as dark colours also emit heat better it is cooler. Obviously when standing in direct sunlight the lighter colours are better to reflect the heat.
 

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