Tiny Quantum Computers in Bacteria = Efficient Solar Power

clipped from www.treehugger.com Image: "Pediastra, a flat colony of green algae", Wim van Egmond Now scientists led by chemistry prof Graham Flemming and lead author Gregory Engel at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley, have achieved a breakthrough advance in understanding the photosynthesis process. The team fired ultra-short laser pulses at the proteins bacteria use in photosynthesis. The proteins were frozen to more than 300 degrees below zero, which makes the quantum effects easier to observe and reduces the "noise" due to greater motion in warmer molecules. What they found is quantum waves of energy exploring different excitation possibilities in the protein at the same time. Like a tiny quantum computer, the protein answers the question: which is the right path to convert this energy at highest efficiency? The scientists, and peers in the field, expect that a similar phenomenon will be found in plants, explaining nature's efficiency in using sunlight.