Black is said to absorb all colors of light, so why can a black surface be reflective, such as a black painted car.
In: Physics
This was addressed in a recent explanation either here or on /r/askscience. I’m still trying to find it. In the mean time, I’ll give a summary.
Objects reflect light in two ways. One is called specular reflection, in which a ray of light bounces off the object and leaves in a new direction, still a single ray of light. Objects that reflect light in this way appear shiny or glossy. The other is called diffuse reflection, in which the ray of light hits the object and is scattered in all directions. This kind of reflection is what gives objects their color.
An object with low diffuse reflection will appear black, but it can still have good specular reflection, making it appear glossy. Really wish I could explain better. I’ll keep looking for the comment.
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