What's the difference between emission and absorption?

[MCATPhys]

My textbook says "absorption yields color. emission yields fluorescence" - can someone explain what that means exactly.

I know color is when something absorbs all wavelengths except one, which gets reflected and produces color.

If it helps... the chapter is on bohr's model.

 

[collinsmark]

Sounds like you've got a good handle on absorption already.

For emission, think about how black-light posters work (or anything with fluorescent paint put under a black-light). The original light is at such a high frequency (small wavelength) that one can't see it (or just barely see it), and for practical purposes you can consider it to be a single wavelength. Yet the bright paint is easily visible, at easily visible wavelengths. So there has to be something more than absorption going on.