If light bounces off objects multiple times and a part of the visible light is absorbed, why is a white wall still white when the light has already been partially absorbed by other objects and no pure white light is being transmitted further?
Why do objects not appear more colorful or in the “wrong” color, if the rooms is filled with different objects, considering that white light should become less white with each bounce as light is partially absorbed?
In: Physics
Normally, objects reflect only a small fraction if the light source. This means that the majority of light hitting your white wall will be directly from the source. Any other coloration is usually too minor to notice.
There are situations where it may become apparent. I used to have a safety orange workout shirt and whenever the sun hit me while I was in the car, the entire interior turned a blazing orange.
This happened because the sun wasn’t shining on most of the inside of the car, so the main light source *was* the shirt, and it was very bright so it reflected a lot of light.
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