Question

I’m confused about why we don’t see absorbed light. The way I understand it is if an atom absorbs a photon then the electrons move up to an energy level corresponding to the energy of the photon. The electrons move down and emit a photon with the same energy so the emitted light would be of the same or lower wavelength as the absorbed light? When hydrogen is excited the colour seen is a mixture of the emitted wavelengths which are the same as the wavelengths absorbed. So why is it that objects that absorb red light reflect blue light? Is red light still emitted but we don’t see it, or does this energy absorbed completely disappear with no emission? Is emission of photons from excited atoms different to how colour is seen from other objects? I’d really appreciate if someone could explain this to me

A) Red light absorbed by an object is re-emitted in the same wavelength but not detectable by the human eye due to limitations in our perception.
B) The absorbed energy is typically re-emitted as thermal radiation, not necessarily in the form of visible light.
C) Objects that reflect blue light after absorbing red light do so because the absorbed energy is dissipated as heat without re-emitting any light.
D) Color perception in objects relies on complex interactions between absorbed and re-emitted wavelengths, resulting in the perception of certain colors based on the reflective properties of the material.

Answer 1

Objects that A) absorb red light can emit it as heat rather than visible light, making it undetectable to the human eye. The reflection of blue light after absorbing red light is due to complex interactions between absorbed and re-emitted wavelengths.

Step-by-step explanation:

The color we see when looking at an object is due to the wavelengths of light that it reflects. When an object absorbs light of a certain wavelength, the energy of the absorbed light is usually re-emitted as thermal radiation, not necessarily in the form of visible light.

This means that the absorbed red light could be emitted as heat rather than as visible light, making it undetectable by the human eye. Objects that reflect blue light after absorbing red light do so because the absorbed energy is dissipated as heat without re-emitting any light.

The reflection of blue light is a result of the complex interactions between absorbed and re-emitted wavelengths, which can create the perception of certain colors based on the reflective properties of the material.