Biophysicists theorize that plants tap into the eerie world of quantum entanglement during photosynthesis. Now, scientists have discovered a feature of plants that cannot be explained by classical physics alone, but which quantum mechanics answers quite nicely.
The fact that biological systems can exploit quantum effects is quite astounding. In a way, they’re like mini-quantum computers capable of scanning all possible options in order to choose the most efficient paths or solutions. For plants, this means the ability to make the most of the energy they receive and then deliver that energy from leaves with near perfect efficiency.
But for this to work, plants require the capacity to work in harmony with the wild, wacky, and extremely small world of quantum phenomena. The going theory is that plants have light-gathering macromolecules in their cells that can transfer energy via molecular vibrations — vibrations that have no equivalents in classical physics. Most of these light-gathering macromolecules are comprised of chromophores attached to proteins. These macromolecules carry out the first step of photosynthesis by capturing sunlight and efficiently transferring the energy.
Previous inquiries suggested that this energy is transferred in a wave-like manner, but it was a process that could still be explained by classical physics.