Update: Quantum photosynthesis

Just to underline the post Quantum mechanics in photosynthesis, oh my. there’s another take on the interpretation and significance of the research at Cosmic Variance. Here’s a sample:

We can think about this in terms of Feynman’s way of talking about quantum mechanics: rather than a particle taking a unique path between two points, as in classical mechanics, a quantum particle takes every possible path, with simple paths getting a bit more weight than complicated ones. In the case of the protein, different paths for the energy might be more or less efficient at any particular moment, but this bit of quantum trickery allows the energy to find the best possible route at any one time. Imagine at rush hour, if your car could take every possible route from your home to the office, and the time it officially took would be whatever turned out to be the shortest path. How awesome would that be?

[Source: Quantum Photosynthesis; Cosmic Variance]

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