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Using longer wavelengths means less light energy is needed for the same number of photons and therefore for the same amount of photosynthesis. For actual sunlight, where only 45% of the light is in the photosynthetically active wavelength range, the theoretical maximum efficiency of solar energy conversion is approximately 11%.
The free energy created is then used, via a chain of nearby electron acceptors, for a transfer of hydrogen atoms (as protons and electrons) from H 2 O or hydrogen sulfide towards carbon dioxide, eventually producing glucose. These electron transfer steps ultimately result in the conversion of the energy of photons to chemical energy.
The underlying force driving these reactions is the Gibbs free energy of the reactants relative to the products. If donor and acceptor (the reactants) are of higher free energy than the reaction products, the electron transfer may occur spontaneously. The Gibbs free energy is the energy available ("free") to do work.
To do this, it must release the absorbed energy. This can happen in various ways. The extra energy can be converted into molecular motion and lost as heat, or re-emitted by the electron as light (fluorescence). The energy, but not the electron itself, may be passed onto another molecule; this is called resonance energy transfer.
Photosynthesis (/ ˌ f oʊ t ə ˈ s ɪ n θ ə s ɪ s / FOH-tə-SINTH-ə-sis) [1] is a system of biological processes by which photosynthetic organisms, such as most plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, convert light energy, typically from sunlight, into the chemical energy necessary to fuel their metabolism.
When measuring the irradiance of PAR, values are expressed using units of energy (W/m 2), which is relevant in energy-balance considerations for photosynthetic organisms. [4] However, photosynthesis is a quantum process and the chemical reactions of photosynthesis are more dependent on the number of photons than the energy contained in the photons.
The Calvin cycle uses the chemical energy of ATP and the reducing power of NADPH from the light-dependent reactions to produce sugars for the plant to use. These substrates are used in a series of reduction-oxidation ( redox ) reactions to produce sugars in a step-wise process; there is no direct reaction that converts several molecules of CO 2 ...
The chemical pathway of oxygenic photosynthesis fixes carbon in two stages: the light-dependent reactions and the light-independent reactions.. The light-dependent reactions capture light energy to transfer electrons from water and convert NADP +, ADP, and inorganic phosphate into the energy-storage molecules NADPH and ATP.