Does being in the water help you tan?

Question

Does it really magnify the suns rays or does it block it?

Answer 1

Yes, it is true that the sun rays is magnified. Please don't go tanning in water.

Water will magnify the suns rays but at the end you will have an uneven tan. The top part of your body will be more tanned than the rest of the body. Yes your face will be more darker than your hands or legs that is in the water.

Light have two characteristic: reflection and refraction. Both occurs simultaneously. Reflection is the cause of magnification of suns rays in water but refraction reflects the suns rays back to the atmosphere.

Put it like this, when you are in the water, your face will receive almost twice as much of sun rays as you normally would receives if you were back at home. Your body which is in the water will received magnified sun rays but that is not as bad as your face.

I have experienced it myself. Not a pretty sight.

Answer 2

It magnifies the suns rays, trust me. Last summer I was swimming in a lake with my friends and I forgot to put sun screen on ( I usually don't burn) Long story short we all got the worst sun burns of our lives. Moral of the story don't risk beauty for health.

Answer 3

it reflects the sun that is why people get sunburned real easy by the sea or especially when they are in boats or on the water .like wind surfing