Photosynthesis May Rely On Quantum Effect 234
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by
kdawson
from the good-exitations dept.
from the good-exitations dept.
forgethistory sends us to PhysOrg for a summary of new research suggesting that the near instantaneous energy transfer achieved by photosynthesis may rely on quantum effects. From the article: "Through photosynthesis, green plants and cyanobacteria are able to transfer sunlight energy to molecular reaction centers for conversion into chemical energy with nearly 100-percent efficiency. Speed is the key — the transfer of the solar energy takes place almost instantaneously so little energy is wasted as heat. How photosynthesis achieves this near instantaneous energy transfer is a long-standing mystery that may have finally been solved."
The Plants Are Right to Laugh at You, Ralph (Score:5, Funny)
Starbucks must take advantage of the same source (Score:0, Funny)
Fight The Good Fight (Score:0, Funny)
I think it's pretty obvious that plants are not going to "evolve" quantum technology on their own, even with all the benefits The Lord has provided us with we are unable to manage anything close to a 100% energy source and we are thinking, feeling humans and not mere plants. Isn't it fitting that the Lord chooses something as beautiful as plants and glorious as the sun to finally reveal himself to scientists.
The Last Days can't be far off now brothers, Hallelujah ! Rejoice !
Re:I'm sure a lot more things rely on quantum effe (Score:5, Funny)
Re:I'm sure a lot more things rely on quantum effe (Score:2, Funny)
Maybe his spell checker uses quantum effects!
Oh boy. (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Even more amazing... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:I'm sure a lot more things rely on quantum effe (Score:5, Funny)
Re:The Plants Are Right to Laugh at You, Ralph (Score:5, Funny)
Maybe so, but then some herbivore eat a thousand of them, we eat a hundred herbivores, and we're the benefactor of all their magic!
If humans were photoheterotrophic or photoautotrophic, we wouldn't have enough energy to do much more than sit there sulking like a stupid fern. One of the sad realities of a creature like Swamp Thing [imdb.com] (an apparent photoautotroph) is that he wouldn't really be able to move quickly at all. It'd be very easy for some cow to walk up and start nibbling on him (oh sweet irony). Adrienne Barbeau would have to dump his ass for something higher on the food chain like an amoeba.
Adrienne Barbeau was hot in Swamp Thing. You really want to give that up just so you can have quantum-enhanced solar power? Wait, that does sound pretty cool.
Re:so when I did an MRI (Score:3, Funny)
Re:I'm sure a lot more things rely on quantum effe (Score:4, Funny)
Just kidding. I will leave now.
Re:The Plants Are Right to Laugh at You, Ralph (Score:2, Funny)
Re:I'm sure a lot more things rely on quantum effe (Score:3, Funny)