Absorption spectrum

So, have you ever looked at a rainbow and seen all the pretty colors? Well, when scientists look at light under a special machine, they see something similar called an absorption spectrum. An absorption spectrum tells us which colors of light are missing from the light we're looking at.

It's like when you play with a set of colorful toys, but one of the toys is missing. You can tell which toy is missing because the pattern is not complete. Similarly, scientists can tell which color is missing from the light because the pattern of colors is incomplete.

This is important for scientists because different substances can absorb (or take in) different colors of light. For example, if we shine white light on a yellow flower, the flower will absorb all the colors of the light except for yellow, which it will reflect back to us. This is why the flower appears yellow.

So, by looking at an absorption spectrum, scientists can figure out what substances are present in a material--like a flower or a star. It's like they're detectives solving a mystery!