Why Do We See Things Colorful?

When we shine a light on an object, for example, white light (mix of red, green, and blue) on a yellow object (combination of red and green), the object observes the blue light and reflects red and green. The reflected light will be detected by our eye cells and interpreted in our brain to visual data.

As it seems, dark objects heat faster than light ones. That’s because they observe higher range of wavelengths and as a result, the gain the energy of those wavelengths.

That’s why snow melts much faster in polluted cities. The pollution will cover the surface of the snow, and it will be slightly gray. As the snow gets darker, it has more chance to observe lights and heat up. So it will melt faster than pure white snow.