Which phenomenon allows us to see color in objects?

The phenomenon that allows us to see color in objects is the reflection of light. When light hits an object, certain wavelengths of the light spectrum are absorbed by the object's surface, while others are reflected. The colors that are reflected determine the color that we perceive the object to be. For instance, a red apple appears red because it reflects red wavelengths of light and absorbs others.

In contrast, refraction involves the bending of light as it passes through different mediums, which can create effects like rainbows but does not directly explain how colors are perceived from objects. Dissipation of color is not a recognized optical phenomenon relevant to how we see color. Scattering of light occurs when light rays are forced to deviate from a straight path due to irregularities in the medium, which can affect the appearance of the sky, for instance, but it doesn't explain object color in the same straightforward way that reflection does. Hence, the reflection of light is the primary reason we observe colors in objects.