Light Adaptation of the Photosynthetic Apparatus of Green Algae

Photosynthesis is the process in which water and carbon dioxide are combined to carbohydrate and the sun light provides the necessary energy. It is the largest synthetic process on Earth. The lowest estimation amounts to 5 x 1010 tons of carbon fixed as carbon dioxide per year by photosynthesis. Since it is difficult to imagine this number, we have calculated the carbon as coal and have loaded it in an imagined coal train. This train would reach five times to the moon and back (Fig. 5.1). We consider it meritorious to study the mechanism of the photosynthetic apparatus carrying out this gigantic process and to learn about its regulation by light.