I hears that it was black underneath
2007-07-17 03:23:24 · 10 answers · asked by Jay V 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Zoology
Their skin is black and their fur actually has no color at all. Each hair is a clear tube. When the light hits the tubes a portion of the light is reflected off the fur and a portion is absorbed by the fur filling the tubes and the spaces inbetwen the fur. The way the light reflects and absorbs makes the fur appear white.
But ya, if you were to shave them the skin is black.
2007-07-17 04:06:43 · answer #1 · answered by The Cheshire 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Actually it's true polar bears fur actually is clear just their skin is white and he reflection does also distrort for lack of a better word.
2016-04-01 08:32:18 · answer #2 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The skin is black and the fur is white.
It's a bit misleading to say that "polar bear fur is clear" -- this may suggest that it's different from other white fur. It's not.
All white fur is free of pigment, so each individual hair is clear, like the ice in snowflakes. If you look at just one hair (or snowflake) under magnification this is obvious, but if you look at the mass of hairs in a pelt (or the snowflakes in a snowball), the scattering of the light every which way makes it white.
(This applies to white human hairs too -- if you look closely at "grey" hair in humans you'll see it's white hairs mixed with those of the original colour).
So it's more accurate and helpful to say that polar bears' fur is white, and the individual hairs in white fur are clear.
2007-07-17 05:30:54 · answer #3 · answered by richard_new_forester 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The bears skin is black, the fur is clear (more translucent, really). The white color comes from the diffraction of light in the coat.
2007-07-17 03:32:53 · answer #4 · answered by David V 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The fur is white, but the skin is black. The black is for the polar bear to soak in infrared rays for heat from the sun, and the white is for it to blend in with its surroundings. The thing is, there won't be much surroundings left with the way we're using coal so inefficiently... grr. =]
2007-07-17 03:29:29 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
The fur is actually clear, but the skin is black.
2007-07-17 21:26:26 · answer #6 · answered by FN 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The fur is white/clear, and the skin is black. Just like a "grey" horse.
2007-07-17 03:28:08 · answer #7 · answered by mathaowny 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
the fur is clear and the skin is black.
2007-07-17 03:43:55 · answer #8 · answered by Bleh 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
the fur is transparent, it looks white due to the wavelengths of light that are refracted
2007-07-17 03:53:32 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Its kind of a clean grey or a dirty yellow
2007-07-17 03:51:55 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋