How does matter (on an atomic scale) get its color?
In: 17
Light (the photons) have various frequencies and wavelengths, and our eyes detect these as colors. Photons don’t have mass, so their energy is in their frequency, basically.
Photons can interact with atoms in two ways:
* particle-like (they hit the atom and get absorbed, typically into the electrons, which move to different orbitals as a result of the extra energy they just got),
* or wave-like, where the interaction can be with the “arrangement” of the atoms, sort of like an ocean wave hitting some sort of obstacle and [bouncing/reflecting](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQlamBxOJRqTxQU4NHKE1hH6mm8ib8sZnn7dg&usqp=CAU) off it, or [passing through](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/Z20AAOSwukVbFrWw/s-l300.jpg), depending on how the wavelength (“dimensions”) of the light compare to the spacing / configuration of the atoms in the material.
So basically transparency, reflections (mirror effects), as well as color effects where some wavelengths are absorbed or blocked, and some pass through or get reflected to your eyes where you can “see” them, are a result of how light interacts with materials.
Latest Answers