A report on Photosynthesis and Light

Schematic of photosynthesis in plants. The carbohydrates produced are stored in or used by the plant.

A triangular prism dispersing a beam of white light. The longer wavelengths (red) and the shorter wavelengths (blue) are separated.

Composite image showing the global distribution of photosynthesis, including both oceanic phytoplankton and terrestrial vegetation. Dark red and blue-green indicate regions of high photosynthetic activity in the ocean and on land, respectively.

The electromagnetic spectrum, with the visible portion highlighted

Photosynthesis changes sunlight into chemical energy, splits water to liberate O2, and fixes CO2 into sugar.

Light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis at the thylakoid membrane

Beam of sun light inside the cavity of Rocca ill'Abissu at Fondachelli-Fantina, Sicily

$Due to refraction, the straw dipped in water appears bent and the ruler scale compressed when viewed from a shallow angle.$

Overview of the Calvin cycle and carbon fixation

Hong Kong illuminated by colourful artificial lighting.

Plant cells with visible chloroplasts (from a moss, Plagiomnium affine)

Portrait of Jan Baptist van Helmont by Mary Beale, c.1674

$Thomas Young's sketch of a double-slit experiment showing diffraction. Young's experiments supported the theory that light consists of waves.$

Melvin Calvin works in his photosynthesis laboratory.

The leaf is the primary site of photosynthesis in plants.

Absorbance spectra of free chlorophyll a ( blue ) and b ( red ) in a solvent. The action spectra of chlorophyll molecules are slightly modified in vivo depending on specific pigment–protein interactions.

The surface of the leaf is coated with a water-resistant waxy cuticle that protects the leaf from excessive evaporation of water and decreases the absorption of ultraviolet or blue light to minimize heating.

- Photosynthesis

This process of photosynthesis provides virtually all the energy used by living things.

- Light

1 related topic with Alpha

Electromagnetic spectrum

0 links

Range of frequencies of electromagnetic radiation and their respective wavelengths and photon energies.

A diagram of the electromagnetic spectrum, showing various properties across the range of frequencies and wavelengths

Plot of Earth's atmospheric opacity to various wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation. This is the surface-to-space opacity, the atmosphere is transparent to longwave radio transmissions within the troposphere but opaque to space due to the ionosphere.

Plot of atmospheric opacity for terrestrial to terrestrial transmission showing the molecules responsible for some of the resonances

The amount of penetration of UV relative to altitude in Earth's ozone

This frequency range is divided into separate bands, and the electromagnetic waves within each frequency band are called by different names; beginning at the low frequency (long wavelength) end of the spectrum these are: radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays, and gamma rays at the high-frequency (short wavelength) end.

For example, red light resembles infrared radiation in that it can excite and add energy to some chemical bonds and indeed must do so to power the chemical mechanisms responsible for photosynthesis and the working of the visual system.