system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Is light reflected off matter or is light absorbed and then released?

Are my curtains red because all other light is absorbed and (mostly) the red wavelengths are reflected, or does the fabric absorb the phiton and then release light of a red wavelength?
gpt
It’s reflecting the red light and absorbing the other colors, this is how pigments work which are how most everyday objects get their color. If a material absorbs and then emits light it’s either fluorescent (emission is almost instantaneous) or phosphorescent (emission is delayed).