In: Biology
What is the energy per Einstein crated by the charge separation during photorespiration?
The einstein is a unit defined as the energy in one mole of photons (6.022×1023 photons). Because energy is inversely proportional to wavelength, the unit is frequency dependent.
The quantity N photons is called an einstein. The part of the solar spectrum used by plants has an estimated mean wavelength of 570 nm; therefore, the energy of light used during photosynthesis is approximately 28,600/570, or 50 kcal per einstein.
In order to compute the amount of light energy involved in photosynthesis, one other value is needed:
the number of einsteins absorbed per mole of oxygen evolved. This is called the quantum requirement. The minimum quantum requirement for photosynthesis under optimal conditions is about 9.
Thus, the energy used is 9 × 50, or 450 kcal per mole of oxygen evolved. Therefore, the estimated maximum energy efficiency of photosynthesis is the energy stored per mole of oxygen evolved, 117 kcal, divided by 450—that is, 117/450, or 26 percent.