How do mirrors look & behave atomically?

Question

I was observing mirrors recently and I was thinking about how an mirror would look atomically. I was always used to looking at atoms as being colored that said, I was always concerned at how they looked. I looked at previous questions and found silver atoms could play a part in it but now a days the mirrors are not made of pure silver now a days so I am confused.

Not to mention how do mirrors function atomically? Its hard because if say I shoot light towards a very black object then the radiation is absorbed but however when I shoot it at mirror it reflects it back. That said, how do they work?

How do atoms reflect the photons back? If so how and why does the black body atoms not do the same?

Answer 1

Reflection,refraction and transmission of light are macroscopic manifestation of a phenomenon called scattering.In this incoming photons are absorbed and either the quantum energy level of an atom is raised (as in case of resonance absorption) or the outer electron cloud is set into motion(this is responsible for light around us).Almost instantaneously another photon is emitted by the atom and this gives rise to reflection,refraction and transmission.