I think cats really bask in the sunlight because they're secretly solar-powered. Their fur channels the light to photoreactive cells on their skin. When they've stored what they can, excess energy is converted into cyclic mechanical motion and dissipated as sound -- which is why they purr so much while basking.
Hi! Cleaning out old lj emails, and I found your reply here.
Cats may not be solar-powered, but did you know that polar bears are? Their fur looks white, but the hairs are actually colorless. They're essentially fiber optic cables - hollow shafts that act as conduits for sunlight, channeling it onto their skin, which is black, to heat them. That's why they look white, the sunlight in their fur.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
branchandroot
no subject
Date: Thursday, April 26th, 2007 01:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Thursday, April 26th, 2007 04:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Friday, April 27th, 2007 02:23 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Sunday, March 2nd, 2008 04:42 am (UTC)Cats may not be solar-powered, but did you know that polar bears are? Their fur looks white, but the hairs are actually colorless. They're essentially fiber optic cables - hollow shafts that act as conduits for sunlight, channeling it onto their skin, which is black, to heat them. That's why they look white, the sunlight in their fur.