The primary reactions in photosynthesis—the first steps in plants' conversion of sunlight energy into energy stored in carbohydrates—are incredibly efficient. And in a new study in Nature, chemists reveal that they may have found part of the reason why: quantum mechanics. A couple years ago, scientists first showed in bacteria proteins that the electrons were moving according to a quantum mechanical phenomenon called coherence, rather than abiding by the classical laws of physics. But where those early experiments
had been cooled to 77 kelvins (–196 degrees Celsius)—this experiment was the first conducted at room temperature, 294 K, to replicate such effects [Scientific American]
. Thus, the new study, which was done on marine algae, suggests this phenomenon can occur in a living biological system. Quantum coherence occurs when an electron interacts with more than one molecule at a time, entering a multi-state kind of existence. Study leader Greg Scholes explains ...
