Water Evaporation and Color

[caneng2002]

It seems to be an age old question; Does dying water darker help with evaporation?

My gut feeling is no because the latent heat required for water evaporation remains unchanged even with colored water.

However absorded light increase latent heat thereby warming the water and increasing evaporation...i think.

 

[bimr]

It probably helps a little to warm the water. Dying the water should increase the heat absorption. The same volume of warm water will evaporate faster than cooler water.

However, most of the energy is used in the phase change when the water evaporates, not when the water temperature is increased.

What you are describing is the classic science project where you determine whether water freezes faster when the starting water is cold or warm. The answer is that water freezes faster when the starting water is colder although the effect is so slight that it is difficult to quantify.