PBR (Physically Based Rendering) defines "what a material looks like" through parameters close to the physics of light reflecting off a surface, instead of painting a color by eye. THREE.MeshStandardMaterial boils down to two values: metalness (0 = ordinary material, 1 = metal) and roughness (0 = mirror-smooth, 1 = fully matte). Get that combination right and the surface reads convincingly under any lighting.
The demo lays the same-colored sphere out in a 5×3 grid, sweeping roughness across columns and metalness across rows. Top-left (rough, non-metal) reads like matte plastic; bottom-right (smooth, metal) reads like a mirror.
A metal (metalness = 1) renders flat black without something around it to reflect. So this demo, like the environment-map entry, sets up a quick lighting environment with RoomEnvironment + PMREMGenerator. When you need finer control — physically based glass, transmission — step up to MeshPhysicalMaterial, the extended superset of MeshStandardMaterial.
When to use
Product renders, near-photoreal 3D UI elements, and mimicking real materials like metal, plastic, or ceramic.