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- An electron absorbs the energy of the photon and sends it back out the way it came in. This results in reflection or scattering.
- An electron cannot absorb the energy of the photon and the photon continues on its path. This results in transmission (provided no other absorption mechanisms are active).
- An electron selectively absorbs a portion of the photon, and the remaining frequencies are transmitted in the form of spectral color.
Most of the time, it is a combination of the above that happens to the light that hits an object. The electrons in different materials vary in the range of energy that they can absorb. Most glasses, for example, block ultraviolet (UV) light. What happens is the electrons in the glass absorb the energy of the photons in the UV range while ignoring the weaker energy of photons in the visible light spectrum.