The audience becomes entranced precisely by the means of making the spectacle, an absorption that, aided by menacing sound and flashing light, focusses attention on the devastation of war and, by contrast, the horsiness of a horse the rearing, twitching, and nuzzling through which its nobility and affection pour out.

NEWYORKER: Battle Stations

Here, plastics that are black to the eye actually reflect a reasonable amount of light, so it is possible to get a meaningful absorption spectrum.

ECONOMIST: Recycling

Since atoms have well understood light absorption properties, predictions can be made about the depth of a shadow cast, improving communication between the individual atoms performing calculations.

ENGADGET: Researchers capture a single atom's shadow, has implications for quantum computers