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> Note how most plants are green, which is to say they're content with reflecting the most energy-dense range of the visible spectrum. Photosynthesis is very c
by jasonwatkinspdx 6y ago
> Note how most plants are green, which is to say they're content with reflecting the most energy-dense range of the visible spectrum.
Photosynthesis is very complex, and there are reasons why plants shed about 10% of green light: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/368/6498/1490 https://science.sciencemag.org/content/368/6498/1490 . It's not that evolution was too dumb to discover the simple fact of green light being more energy dense, it's that there's other more important constraints happening at the molecular level in photosynthesis.
- eatbitseveryday 6y agoPlants desire more stability in energy output from photosynthesis (e.g., clouds moving overhead) at a lower level, rather than attaining maximum output. Trying to always maximize output means you'll have high fluctuations in energy output.