Generalized formulation of free energy and application to photosynthesis

Hwe Ik Zhang and M.Y. Choi

Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 2018, vol. 493, issue C, 125-134

Abstract: The origin of free energy on the earth is solar radiation. However, the amount of free energy it contains has seldom been investigated, because the free energy concept was believed to be inappropriate for a system of photons. Instead, the origin of free energy has been sought in the process of photosynthesis, imposing a limit of conversion given by the Carnot efficiency. Here we present a general formulation, capable of not only assessing accurately the available amount of free energy in the photon gas but also explaining the primary photosynthetic process more succinctly. In this formulation, the problem of “photosynthetic conversion of the internal energy of photons into the free energy of chlorophyll” is replaced by simple “free energy transduction” between the photons and chlorophyll. An analytic expression for the photosynthetic efficiency is derived and shown to deviate from the Carnot efficiency. Some predictions verifiable possibly by observation are also suggested.

Keywords: Free energy; Photon gas; Canonical formulation; Photosynthesis; Carnot efficiency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:phsmap:v:493:y:2018:i:c:p:125-134

DOI: 10.1016/j.physa.2017.10.049

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