Physical Transformation AtlasPTA
Phenomenon · phenomenon:photosynthesis

Photosynthesis

Chlorophyll complexes absorb photons, drive charge separation across a membrane and store the energy in reduced carbon compounds. Overall solar-to-biomass efficiency is a few per cent.

Biophysical transductionfirst reported 1779

Atlas record: 6 claims reference this phenomenon — 6 established.

Explorerelations · matrix context · routes · sources · cite

conditions: aqueous medium required · illumination required · room temperature
6claims1enumerated routes1routes with complete-composition evidence0candidate routes not searched4cited sources

Relations

drives · 1
Incident radiation flux—drives→Photosynthesisestablished
  • photosynthetically active radiation (400–700 nm), water, CO₂, temperatures roughly 0–45 °C
produces · 1
Photosynthesis—produces→Reduced carbon compoundsestablished
member of · 1
Photosynthesis—member of→Biologicalestablished
bounded by · 2
Photosynthesis—bounded by→Landsberg limitestablished
Photosynthesis—bounded by→Photosynthetic glucose-production limitestablished
governed by · 1
Photosynthesis—governed by→Physiology-limited photosynthetic maximumestablished

Matrix context

D = disequilibrium row · C = coupling family column. A cell reads the state of the atlas for that pair.

D.11 × C.30 · Incident radiation flux × Biological · Established
family: Biological (C.30)

Enumerated routes through this · 1

Cited sources · 4

  1. [1]
    R. E. Blankenship, et al.. Comparing photosynthetic and photovoltaic efficiencies and recognizing the potential for improvement (2011)
    Science 332, 805–809 · doi:10.1126/science.1200165 · crossref ✓ 2026-09-19 · record
  2. [2]
    R. E. Blankenship. Molecular Mechanisms of Photosynthesis (2nd ed.) (2014)
    Wiley-Blackwell · book, no DOI · record
  3. [3]
    P. T. Landsberg, G. Tonge. Thermodynamic energy conversion efficiencies (1980)
    Journal of Applied Physics 51, R1–R20 · doi:10.1063/1.328187 · crossref ✓ 2026-09-19 · record
  4. [4]
    X.-G. Zhu, S. P. Long, D. R. Ort. Improving photosynthetic efficiency for greater yield (2010)
    Annual Review of Plant Biology 61, 235–261 · doi:10.1146/annurev-arplant-042809-112206 · record

Cite this entity

Physical Transformation Atlas (2026). entity phenomenon:photosynthesis: Photosynthesis. Dataset revision rbfbfcbb70e57 (hash of the canonical data). https://physical-transformation-atlas.wldud5192.workers.dev/phenomenon/photosynthesis

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