Understanding light.. made it possible to understand why the shadow edge from a beam of light is slightly blurred. It made it possible to understand that the colors of a beam split by a prism, or by a diffraction grating, are the result of waves being bent more than others. It made it possible to understand other phenomena.
Light at a shorter "wavelength" (depending on the thickness) is set at its reflectance from the surface. Expamples of such include the scales of butterfly wings, the layered feathers of bird wings, and even the oily film on the surface of a rain puddle.
Bloth plants and animals use light to orient themselves in a spatial environment. Single-cell algae with eyespots swim toward the light. Various plant parts respond, to the direction of light, and growing toward it.
Even color in minerals is the result of the selective absorption of parts of the spectrum of white light. The optical properties depend on the interaction of light with minerals. The most obvious property is whether it is transparent, translucent or opaque. This is a function of the structure of the mineral and the kind of bonds that bind atom to atom. It is a measure of the amount of light absorbed by the mineral. And the amount of light reflected also produces different intensities.
What is named Earthy Luster in minerology is in effect a lack of luster produced by surfaces that scatter the light. The observed color being due to the reflections of light that are absorbed. There is no single cause of color. Sometimes it is a direct result of the presence of certain elements.
As sedentary creatures of light, plants have evolved their amazing biochemistry. The foliage surface supplies the light energy that they use to fix carbon dioxide and make sugars. The root surfaces provide a comparable surface for absorbing elements and water.
The dietary needs of plants are quite simple and have some similarities to ours. Althought they may not need any vitamins, only a few elements. They obtain carbon (C) and oxygen (O) from carbon dioxide in the atmosphere when the tiny pores in their leaves, the stomata, are open.
They obtain hydrogen (H) from the water that they split apart in photosynthesis. In lesser amounts, they assimilate nitrogen (N) from the dissolved ions of ammonium or nitrate in the soil water, or from backteria in their roots. They also obtain smaller amounts of phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) as ions in the soil water solution, and they assimilate sulfur (S) as sulfate from the soin water as well.
The rest of their nutrition requirements are metallic elements dissolved at low concentrations in the soil water (iron, magnesium, calcium, manganese, zinc, and molybdenum), as well as a bit of chlorine. Being creatures of light with their biochemical capabilities makes them sophisticated in their own natural environment for complete contro of their development.
Because of the similar elements are essential to the maintenance of such living systems, to ensure the constant supply and the understanding of such energy source is needed.
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