Open AccessThe action of light on chlorophyll
Publication year - 1914
Publication title -
proceedings of the royal society of london. series b, containing papers of a biological character
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2053-9185
pISSN - 0950-1193
DOI - 10.1098/rspb.1914.0026
Subject(s) - chlorophyll , carbon dioxide , starch , decomposition , chlorophyll a , photosynthesis , chemistry , action (physics) , environmental science , environmental chemistry , botany , biology , food science , physics , biochemistry , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics
The chemical changes brought about by light in the green leaf leading to the production of sugars and starch from carbon dioxide and water are still far from being clearly understood. To what extent the chlorophyll takes part in this process, whether it simply performs the function of bringing the rays of light into contact with the carbon dioxide and water in such a way as to enable them to effect a synthesis of these two compounds, or whether the chlorophyll itself initiates these changes by its own chemical decomposition, are problems still unsolved.