1. Mar 20, 2009 #1

   Stratosphere

   

   I know that black things absorb all light and white things dont absorb any but what does a mirror absorb or reflect? It reflects all types of light.

    

   Stratosphere, Mar 20, 2009
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3. Mar 20, 2009 #2

   mgb_phys

   

   Science Advisor

   Homework Helper

   A surface that reflects or absorbs all colors equally is called grey. Black and white are just the different ends of grey.
   A mirror (ideally) reflects all wavelengths equally.
   
   There is a similair definition of color - that a black object emits light only depending on it's temperature, the color of the object doesn't matter. Slightly confusingly the sun is a black body - it's color is only due to the temperature - all the different colored stars in the sky are simply different temperatures.

    

   mgb_phys, Mar 20, 2009

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