Why do free electrons in metals absorb and emit photons?

[Pranav Jha]

How do free electrons of metals reflect photons?
I had read that they first absorb and then emit the photon but if they are free (not bound to an atom and thus not fixed to any old energy level) why should they lose their energy on the first place? Surely they don't have to drop to their original atomic energy level.

 

[cragar]

When we talk about atoms together in a solid, the electrons do not have discrete energy levels. There is an FAQ question that talks about photons moving through a solid medium and it may help to read it.