I know that there are other mechanisms behind the colors we perceive (Rayleigh scattering, for one), but as far as I understand it, absorption and reflection are the main ones. The thing is, I haven’t quite been able to understand how that works, and why different molecular structures (or mixtures) lead to different colors. I think I remember that it involves the electrons shuffling around somehow, but that’s it. Nothing I’m finding online is helping, either.
Thanks in advance!
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When light hits a molecule, it can do a few things. It can be absorbed, reflected, or transmitted. The color of the light we see is the color that was reflected. The other colors were absorbed.
Each color of light has a different amount of energy. Molecules can only absorb light that matches the energy they need to move their electrons to a higher energy level. If the energy doesn’t match, the light is not absorbed and might be reflected instead.
The color we see from an object depends on what light is not absorbed and therefore is reflected or transmitted to our eyes.
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