To understand how the thylakoids of chloroplasts transform light energy into the chemical energy of ATP and NADPH,

it is necessary to know some important properties of light. 1. The nature of sunlight Sunlight is electromagnetic energy. The quantum mechanical model of electromagnetic radiation describes light as having a behavior that is both wavelike and particlelike. a. Wavelike properties of light - Electromagnetic energy is a form of energy that travels in rhythmic waves which are disturbances of electric and magnetic fields. - A wavelength is the distance between the crests of electromagnetic waves. - The electromagnetic spectrum ranges from wavelengths that are less than a nanometer (gamma rays) to those that are more than a kilometer (radio waves). - Visible light, which is detectable by the human eye, is only a small portion of the electromagnetic spectrum and ranges from about 380 to 750 nm. The wavelengths most important for photosynthesis are within this range of visible light. b. Particlelike properties of light - Light also behaves as if it consists of discrete particles or quanta called photons. - Each photon has a fixed quantity of energy which is inversely proportional to the wavelength of light (the shorter the wavelength the more energy it has). For example, a photon of violet light has nearly twice as much energy as a photon of red light. The sun radiates the full spectrum of electromagnetic energy. - The atmosphere acts as a selective window that allows visible light to pass through while screening out a substantial fraction of other radiation. - The visible range of light is the radiation that drives photosynthesis. - Blue and red, the two wavelengths most effectively absorbed by chlorophyll, are the colors most useful as energy for the light reactions.
the vast majority of life on earth depends on sunlight for energy. Living things require energy to stay alive. The main energy input to planet earth is from the sun. The sun produces a vast amount of energy in many different forms. The main form of energy from the sun is in the form of electromagnetic radiation, although it also produces vast quantities of subatomic charged particles into the space around it. The electromagnetic radiation from the sun can be shown in a diagram:

Of the many different wavelengths of e-m radiation hitting the earth, very little passes through the atmosphere. X rays are absorbed in the Van Allen belt, high in the atmosphere. UV rays are also reduced by the gas ozone, although pollution from CFCs and other gases has damaged the ozone layer and permitted more biologically dangerous UV light to pass through to ground level. Infrared energy is trapped by the atmosphere the so-called greenhouse effect that keeps the temperature of the planet warm and stable. Visible light passes readily through the atmosphere, and it is these wavelengths (between 400nm and 700nm) that photosynthetic organisms use. The sun produces many wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation, but only visible radiation is used for photosynthesis.
The energy produced by the sun reaches the earth as electromagnetic radiation. Light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation are considered to have both a wave nature and a particle nature. Particles or packets of light (its particle nature) are known as photons - the smallest divisible units of light. The brightness of light depends on the number of photons absorbed per unit time. Each photon carries a fixed amount of energy which determines the amount that the photon vibrates. The distance moved by a photon during one of it vibrations is referred to as its wavelength and is measured in nanometres.

Electromagnetic radiation spans a broad range of wavelengths. At the one end of the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation there are gamma rays which have a wavelength of 10-5 nm and at the other end, radio waves which have a wavelength of 1012nm. A very small part of this spectrum can be seen by the human eye i.e. between the wavelengths 380 and 750 nm. This part of the electromagnetic spectrum is called visible light. Almost all life depends ultimately on this part of the spectrum for its energy. Humans perceive the different wavelengths of visible light as different colours. Within the spectrum the longer the wavelength of the radiation, the slower the vibration of the photons and the less energy each photon contains. Thus photons of ultraviolet light, at the blue end of the visible spectrum, have shorter wavelengths and contain more energy than red light and infrared radiation. Sunlight contains 4% ultraviolet radiation, 52% infrared radiation and 44% visible light. Why is only visible light used by plants ?

Light and photosynthesis.

Chlorophyll does not absorb all the wavelengths of visible light equally. Chlorophyll a, the most important light-absorbing pigment in plants, does not absorb light in the green part of the spectrum. Light in this range of wavelengths is reflected. This is the reason why chlorophyll is green and also why plants (which contain a lot of chlorophyll) are also green. Note in the graph above that the absorption of light by chlorophyll a is at a maximum at two points on the graph 430 and 662 nm. The rate of photosynthesis at the different wavelengths of visible light also show two peaks which roughly correspond to the absorption peaks of chlorophyll a. Plants do not depend only on chlorophyll a in their light harvesting machinery but also have other pigments (accessory pigments) which absorb light of different wavelengths.

II. Properties of Light

A. Light is part of the electromagnetic spectrum -- Wave properties o 1. Wavelength= the distance between crests of the wave The Spectrum a. TV waves are very long wavelengths -> Infra-red (IR) (appear black) b. Ultraviolet (looks black) -> X-rays wavelengths are very short c. Visible light are the colors you see (each color has a different wavelength)
X-ray---UV--380nm-------------------------760nm---IR---TV

appears

black tanning

violet blue green yellow orange red

black heat lamps

(nanometer - nm = 1 billionth of a meter)

B. Particle nature of radiation o 1. Photon - a quantum of light; a unit of light energy 2. Energy in a photon: E= hc/lambda (violet has more energy) where h =Plank's constant, c = speed of light (constant), lambda= wavelength 3. As wavelength increases, energy per photon decreases. Photons of violet light have more energy than photons of red light NOTE: A photon (as discussed here) is different from a photon torpedo.