White light is a mixture of all colors, in roughly equal proportions. White objects look white because they reflect back all the visible wavelengths of light that shine on them - so the light still looks white to us. Colored objects, on the other hand, reflect back only some of the wavelengths; the rest they absorb.

Why does white reflect light and black absorb light?

When light hits an object, that light (known as white light) contains all visible wavelengths of light. ... A white shirt reflects all of the wavelengths of light back to our eyes, absorbing none of them. A black shirt, on the other hand, absorbs all of the wavelengths of light, reflecting none of them back to our eyes.

Does white reflect or absorb light?

A white object reflects all colors of white light equally. If an object absorbs all colors but one, we see the color it does not absorb. ... When a color is removed from white light we see the complementary color.