BI110 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii, Atp Synthase, Electromagnetic Spectrum
Document Summary
Light has two important functions for life on earth: it is a source of energy that sustains virtually all organisms, it provides information about the physical world that surrounds them. Single large chloroplast, harvests light energy and uses it to make energy rich molecules. Eyespot: light sensor, allows individual cells to gather information about location and intensity of light. Flagella move to increase or decrease the amount of light that gets absorbed. The sun converts over 4 million tonnes of matter into energy every second. This energy is given off as electromagnetic radiation, which travels at the speed of light and reaches earth in just over 8 minutes. Light is commonly defined as the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that humans can detect with their eyes. (only from 400nm- Light has no mass, has properties of both a wave and a stream of photons, which in other words is referred to as the particle-wave duality.
