Shining a Light on Plants' Quantum Secret to Boost Photosynthesis: Scientific American
source: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=shining-a-light-on-plants-quantum-secret
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In less than one billionth of a second, plants from algae to redwoods transform 95 percent of the sunlight that falls on them—1017 joules per second bathe the planet—into energy stored chemically as carbohydrates. The quantum key to doing that lies in a phenomenon known to physicists as quantum coherence, according to new research published in Nature on February 4. (Scientific American is part of Nature Publishing Group.)
Quantum coherence describes how more than one molecule interacts with the same energy from one incoming photon at the same time. In essence, rather than the energy from a particular photon choosing one route to pass through the photosynthetic system, it travels through multiple channels simultaneously, allowing it to pick the quickest route. "The energy of the absorbed light is finding more than one pathway to move along at any one time," explains physical chemist Greg Scholes of the University of Toronto, leader of the research group that highlighted the effect. "We can't pinpoint the energy of that light. It's shared in a very special way."
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=shining-a-light-on-plants-quant...
Quantum coherence describes how more than one molecule interacts with the same energy from one incoming photon at the same time. In essence, rather than the energy from a particular photon choosing one route to pass through the photosynthetic system, it travels through multiple channels simultaneously, allowing it to pick the quickest route. "The energy of the absorbed light is finding more than one pathway to move along at any one time," explains physical chemist Greg Scholes of the University of Toronto, leader of the research group that highlighted the effect. "We can't pinpoint the energy of that light. It's shared in a very special way."
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=shining-a-light-on-plants-quant...
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