VRML simplifies the simulation of real world lighting by ignoring reflections and assuming light comes either from a specific source or is "ambient". The latter is the sum of all complex lighting!
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This approximation is motivated by need to render in a reasonable time!
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In the real world when light ray strike a surface, some is absorbed by it, some is reflected off it, and some is transmitted through the surface.
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The light that reflects or is transmitted through a surface continuous into the world, bouncing from surface to surface to illimunate the scene.
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To simplify the complex lighting operations, VRML uses a simplified methods. It supports two types of reflection: diffuse reflection and specular reflection.
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(Definition and Examples)