What are spectral reflectance of pigments?

Spectral reflectance is how pigments act like little color filters on a sunny day.

Imagine you have a box of crayons, each one has its own special color. Now think about sunlight, which is like a mix of all the colors in the rainbow. When light hits a pigment, it decides which colors to keep and which ones to send back as reflected light. That’s how we see the color of things around us.

Each pigment has its own favorite colors, some let red shine through, others pick blue or green. The rest get absorbed, like when you hide under a blanket on a cold day. So if a pigment sends back red light, that’s what we see.

Pigments in leaves, fruits, and even your favorite toys all do this little dance with light every day. Scientists use this idea to figure out the colors of things, like how painters mix paints or how plants know when to grow. It's not magic, it's just a color game that happens right under our noses!