Exposure to alternating light and darkness (night and day) has caused several evolutionary adaptations to darkness. An object may appear dark, but it may be bright at a frequency that humans cannot perceive.Ī dark area has limited light sources, making things hard to see. For example, matte black paint does not reflect much visible light and appears dark, whereas white paint reflects much light and appears bright. In terms of physics, an object is said to be dark when it absorbs photons, causing it to appear dim compared to other objects. In perceiving, the eye is active, and the part of the retina that is unstimulated produces a complementary afterimage. The perception of darkness differs from the mere absence of light due to the effects of after images on perception.
