This sounds like the atom inside the molecule vibrates establishing a variable absorption option able to capture incoming photons across a broad spectrum. This is sufficient to produce a useful chemical effect. Simplistic but a starting point.
It is also a
hint that we need to pursue in our efforts to harness light energy with solar
cells. Free atoms inside a crystalline
structure may surprise us.
This is all good
and does not have anything to do with quantum entanglement that I can see but
plenty to do with quantum.
New evidence
that plants get their energy using quantum entanglement
A recent article in Scientific American suggested
that plants use quantum entanglement in photosynthesis. What can this mean? The
answer is more (and …Read…
Biophysicists theorize that plants tap into the eerie world of quantum
entanglement during photosynthesis.
But the evidence to date has been purely
circumstantial. Now,
scientists have discovered a feature of plants that cannot be explained by
classical physics alone — but which quantum mechanics answers quite nicely.
The fact that biological systems can exploit quantum
effects is quite astounding. In a way, they're like mini-quantum
computers capable of
scanning all possible options in order to choose the most efficient paths or
solutions. For plants, this means the ability to make the most of the energy they
receive and then deliver that energy from leaves with near perfect efficiency.
Good Vibrations
But for this to work, plants require the capacity to
work in harmony with the wild, wacky, and extremely small world of quantum
phenomena. The going theory is that plants have light-gathering macromolecules
in their cells that can transfer energy via molecular vibrations — vibrations
that have no equivalents in classical physics. Most of these light-gathering
macromolecules are comprised of chromophores attached to proteins. These
macromolecules carry out the first step of
photosynthesis by capturing sunlight and efficiently transferring the energy.
Previous inquiries suggested that this energy is
transferred in a wave-like manner, but it was a process that could still be
explained by classical physics.
In Perfect
Quantum Harmony
In the new study, however, UCL researchers
identified a specific feature in biological systems that can only be predicted
by quantum physics. The team learned that the energy transfer in the
light-harvesting macromolecules is facilitated by specific vibrational motions
of the chromophores.
"We found that the properties of some of the
chromophore vibrations that assist energy transfer during photosynthesis can
never be described with classical laws, and moreover, this non-classical
behaviour enhances the efficiency of the energy transfer," noted
supervisor and co-author Alexandra Olaya-Castro in a statement.
The vibrations in question are periodic motions of
the atoms within a molecule. It's similar to how an object moves when it's
attached to a spring. Sometimes, the energy of two vibrating chromophores match
the energy difference between the electronic transitions of chromophores. The
result is a coherent exchange of a single quantum of energy.
"When this happens electronic and vibrational
degrees of freedom are jointly and transiently in a superposition of quantum
states, a feature that can never be predicted with classical physics,"
explained study co-author Edward O'Reilly.
In other words, quantum effects improve the
efficiency of plant photosynthesis in a way that classical physics cannot
allow. Which is pretty wild if you ask me.
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