- The apparent colour of an object is determined as electrons absorb some wavelengths of light and reflect others. The colour an observer sees corresponds with the reflected wavelengths.
- In terms of everyday experience, three key factors affect the colour of an object:
- The light source and what happens to the light on its journey towards an object.
- What happens when light strikes a material or medium that contains chromaphores.
- Factors related to an observer that affect the way they perceive things.
- At an atomic level, things appear to have colour because chromophores within molecules absorb specific wavelengths of light while reflecting others.