eli5 Why Black objects tend to absorb light, while white reflects most of it?
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Depending on if you mean why they appear that way or why things that look a certain way do those things have different answers.
Black appears black due to a lack of light bouncing off of the object and into our eyes.
Black objects absorb light due to the characteristics of the atoms that make up the molecules of the material. Some elements have a tendency to accept energy from light at wavelengths that overlap with our vision, and some molecules with those atoms make that even more effective.
The world’s darkest substances, like column arranged carbon nanotubes, are darker than other black surfaces because they better eliminate the ability for light to bounce off them and into your eyes.
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