# photosynthesis and the quantum mechanic trick of being at all places at once



## derwoodii (Nov 1, 2012)

Alright I can grasp photosynthesis and kinda get general relativity but quantum mechanics pushes me as it did Eisenstein. Yet plants understand it and been using quantum mechanics for millions of years and with out this innovation we would have never evolved past the amoeba 

When It Comes to Photosynthesis, Plants Perform Quantum Computation

When It Comes to Photosynthesis, Plants Perform Quantum Computation: Scientific American

Plants soak up some of the 1017 joules of solar energy that bathe Earth each second, harvesting as much as 95 percent of it from the light they absorb. The transformation of sunlight into carbohydrates takes place in one million billionths of a second, preventing much of that energy from dissipating as heat. But exactly how plants manage this nearly instantaneous trick has remained elusive


more 
Everywhere in a Flash: The Quantum Physics of Photosynthesis | Wired Science | Wired.com
Almost no energy is lost in between. That’s because it exists in multiple places at once, and always finds the shortest path.

The analogy I like is if you have three ways of driving home through rush hour traffic. On any given day, you take only one. You don’t know if the other routes would be quicker or slower. But in quantum mechanics, you can take all three of these routes simultaneously. You don’t specify where you are until you arrive, so you always choose the quickest route,” said Greg Scholes, a University of Toronto biophysicist.


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## Raintree (Nov 1, 2012)

Way cool!


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## derwoodii (Nov 1, 2012)

Yes way kool is quantum but a wee tad over ma head to grasp or explain, here in the vid is a digestible explanation by a boffin. 


its a philosophical doco about the scientific measurement of piece of string, jump to 43.30 for it or take the time to watch it all thou did often leave me more confused :msp_confused:

[video=youtube;JLIwuWNOWBk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLIwuWNOWBk[/video]


if we could extract the efficiency of how its done and adapt to our energy needs, wow and work has begun on this 

Artificial photosynthesis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## Marc (Nov 8, 2012)

How to Teach Physics to Your Dog: Chad Orzel: 9781416572299: Amazon.com: Books

Good primer on QM for the layman. I'd recommend it to anyone with interest in this stuff.


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## derwoodii (Nov 9, 2012)

ozzies boffins find a break through in mimicking natures ways 

ANU researchers hail major breakthrough on hydrogen fuels : Renew Economy

Researchers at the Australian National University are hailing a major breakthrough in learning how to “steal” nature’s secrets on photosynthesis and the lead the way to the creation of clean, renewable hydrogen fuel


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## TreeGuyHR (Nov 18, 2012)

derwoodii said:


> ozzies boffins find a break through in mimicking natures ways
> 
> ANU researchers hail major breakthrough on hydrogen fuels : Renew Economy
> 
> Researchers at the Australian National University are hailing a major breakthrough in learning how to “steal” nature’s secrets on photosynthesis and the lead the way to the creation of clean, renewable hydrogen fuel



I remember reading about this a while back. Putting the secrets of plant photosynthesis into an energy making system (like photo voltaic cells) will win a Nobel Prize. Also, the process of breaking down cellulose and lignin from waste wood or thinnings to simpler carbohydrates that can be fermented into fuels is just about perfected, based on fungal enzymes mass produced in genetically modified bacteria. Not just ethanol (that eats your saw carb!) but other liquid fuels that can have even more energy per g or ml.

There is hope yet for a greener future -- especially with ways to make cheap, sustainable energy in use. Meanwhile energy companies proceed with oil, cola, and tar sands extraction, and even methane hydrate -- as if global climate change was not an issue.


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