First, most objects cannot emit light, but they can absorb and reflect sunlight. Seven different colors of light--red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet--mix together and create the white color of the sunlight.

The light that objects reflect can be seen by our eyes. In other words, the color of the object is the color of the light that the object reflects. For example, when we see that an object is red, this means that this object reflects red light and absorbs other six colors of the sunlight. Therefore, when we see that an object is black, this means that it does not reflect any color of the sunlight and it absorbs all seven colors of the sunlight.

The darker the color, the more light is absorbed, and the hotter the absorbing thing gets.

Sunlight is made up of many types of light, including all the colors of the rainbow (but there is no such thing as black light or dark light). When you shine each type of light on a surface, the surface will do one of two things:

1. The surface can reflect that color of light, which makes the light bounce off the surface and reach your eyes. Then you will see that the surface "is" that color.

2. The surface can absorb that color of light. Then you will not see that color on the surface, since it will not reach your eyes.

If a surface absorbs all types of light (or almost all types of light), it will appear black (or dark).