What happens when a light is shone at an object?

Answer 1

When light meets any of the object it interacts with it...the interaction can be reflection, refraction, absorption, polarisation,diffraction or interference depending upon the nature of the body with which it interacts.

Answer 2

The light is transmitted, re-emitted, absorbed or reflected. * Light will transmit or pass through transparent objects. Refraction is the phenomenon where light will be bent as it passes, at an angle other than perpendicular to the surfaces, through one substance that has a different optical density than the one from which it is coming. A prism will separate white light into a spectrum because different wavelengths of light are bent to different degrees. * When ultraviolet light shines on a phosphorescent compound, the phosphors re-emit the energy as visible light. * The photoelectric effect would be a form of absorption. A photovoltaic cell can convert light into electricity. * Color results from preferential reflection of portions of the spectrum. Iridescent surfaces can reflect colors without pigments. Butterfly wings have no pigment but have color, nontheless. When light shines on a surface any or all of these effects can be expected. When sunlight shines on a newspaper, the ink absorbs the light, the paper reflects the light and some of the light energy is absorbed by the paper and converted into chemical energy that, over time, speeds oxidation and causes the paper to yellow.

Answer 3

The object reflects the colour(s) that you see and absorbs the rest. In practise, the reflection isn't perfect and is also affected by the surface finish of the material and the angle of the light.

Think of a white reflection from a streetlight on a red car, for example.

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