does an object’s microscopic topography determine which colors it reflects back?
In: Physics
yes, but that’s not the way most things get their color. Usually, the color is from how different molecules absorb or reflect light. However, some materials can have microscopic structures that are much bigger than molecules. These are often like little pits which trap light and absorb it as it bounces around in the pit. This is often how animals get very dark black or blue colors.
I know an object’s color is determined by which colors it absorbs vs. reflects back into our eyes, by what determines how it does that?
It’s an interesting question. For most pigments, it comes from absorption by a specific molecule. This is how your Red 40 in your candy works. Pigmentation is a name for coloration through a single chemical that absorbs light and then reflects only a specific wavelength back.
However, there are many things in nature that are not colored that way, they are colored by tiny structures that reflect light differently depending how they are. It’s called structural coloration and it is found throughout nature. Look at: birds. See all those pretty and colorful birds? None of that is from pigmentation, it’s all from structural coloration of the feathers. They are far from the only example, but a good one since they come in all kinds of colors.
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