Inner workings of photosynthesis revealed by powerful new laser technique

Inner workings of photosynthesis revealed by powerful new laser technique. Instant images show how energy is transported across photosynthetic molecules %0A " - Imperial College London news release - For immediate use - Thursday 5 February 2009 Instant pictures showing how the sun's energy moves inside plants have been taken for the first time, according to research out tomorrow (Friday 6 February) in . The images unravel some of the inner workings of the most efficient solar energy process on earth - photosynthesis. Inside a photosynthetic protein, the sun's energy is efficiently guided across the molecule to drive a chemical reaction that stores energy as food and takes in carbon dioxide. Scientists would very much like to harness this process as they search for new energy solutions to replace fossil fuels. To do this, they need to understand this energy transport process in more detail. Analysing energy transport is an important way of understanding the inner workings of a wide range of systems, from biological processes to car engines.