If photons bounce off of surfaces (get reflected), why does it immediately go dark after we switch off the lights?
In: Physics
Each time they bounce a bit of energy is absorbed by the surface. But since they travel so fast, they can bounce an incredible amount of time in what seems instantaneous to us, and all the “light” is absorbed into the walls of the room as heat.
Think about a ball bouncing, and with each bounce the ball doesn’t come fully back to the height it was previously. Eventually the ball will barely be bouncing at all. The height of the bounce is comparable to the brightness of the room and since they bounce so quickly it appears that the light disappears instantly.
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