http://www.dinocrat.com/archives/2008/04/19/why-are-plants-green/ Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:49:05 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 http://www.dinocrat.com/archives/2008/04/19/why-are-plants-green/#comment-303132 Bob Mon, 21 Apr 2008 12:15:41 +0000 http://www.dinocrat.com/archives/2008/04/19/why-are-plants-green/#comment-303132 Several years ago, New Scientist proposed that the earth is green because the purple bacteria, which evolved photosynthesis first, absorbed the green band leaving only the red and blue for the later-evolving cyanobacteria. I like the new theory, too. Several years ago, New Scientist proposed that the earth is green because the purple bacteria, which evolved photosynthesis first, absorbed the green band leaving only the red and blue for the later-evolving cyanobacteria. I like the new theory, too.

]]> http://www.dinocrat.com/archives/2008/04/19/why-are-plants-green/#comment-303131 Bob Mon, 21 Apr 2008 12:12:43 +0000 http://www.dinocrat.com/archives/2008/04/19/why-are-plants-green/#comment-303131 A number of years ago, New Scientist had another theory of why the earth is green. The theory is that the first photosynthetic organisms were the purple bacteria, which preempted the green band (reflecting blue and red = purple) leaving the cyanobacteria (evolving later) only the red and blue bands. A number of years ago, New Scientist had another theory of why the earth is green. The theory is that the first photosynthetic organisms were the purple bacteria, which preempted the green band (reflecting blue and red = purple) leaving the cyanobacteria (evolving later) only the red and blue bands.

]]> http://www.dinocrat.com/archives/2008/04/19/why-are-plants-green/#comment-303120 snaggletoothie Sun, 20 Apr 2008 15:10:11 +0000 http://www.dinocrat.com/archives/2008/04/19/why-are-plants-green/#comment-303120 Thomas Mann in his novel "Doctor Faustus" writes about the color of the sky. His protagonist is facinated by the fact that there is no blue in the sky and it is only a sort of optical illusion that we perceive it as blue. This is a common theme in Mann's writings: that the artist is a con man and illusionist and we can find the same characteristics in nature. Mann would have liked the fact that the green isn't really in the plant, rather it's band width that makes it to our eyes. That's all I'm going to say about this. I will spare myself and anyone else who reads this a disquisition on how all of this relates to Plato's allegory of The Cave. But it does. Thomas Mann in his novel “Doctor Faustus” writes about the color of the sky. His protagonist is facinated by the fact that there is no blue in the sky and it is only a sort of optical illusion that we perceive it as blue. This is a common theme in Mann’s writings: that the artist is a con man and illusionist and we can find the same characteristics in nature. Mann would have liked the fact that the green isn’t really in the plant, rather it’s band width that makes it to our eyes. That’s all I’m going to say about this. I will spare myself and anyone else who reads this a disquisition on how all of this relates to Plato’s allegory of The Cave. But it does.

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