吸收，在物理学上是光子的能量由另一个物体，通常是原子的电子，拥有的过程，因此电磁能会转换成为其它的形式，例如热能。波传导的过程中，光线的吸收通常称为衰减。例如，一个原子的价电子在两个不同能阶之间转换，在这个过程中光子将被摧毁，被吸收的能量会以辐射能或热能的形式再释放出来。虽然在某些情况下 (通常是光学中)，介质会因为穿过的波强度和饱和吸收 (或非线性吸收)发生时会改变它透明度，但通常情况下，波的吸收与强度无关 (线性吸收)。

In physics, absorption of electromagnetic radiation is the way in which the energy of a photon is taken up by matter, typically the electrons of an atom. Thus, the electromagnetic energy is transformed into internal energy of the absorber, for example thermal energy. The reduction in intensity of a light wave propagating through a medium by absorption of a part of its photons is often called attenuation. Usually, the absorption of waves does not depend on their intensity (linear absorption), although in certain conditions (usually, in optics), the medium changes its transparency dependently on the intensity of waves going through, and saturable absorption (or nonlinear absorption) occurs.