Very cool video, summarizing research of Dr. Greg Engel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfVgRdFcYu0
I wonder how efficient we could make solar energy systems based on these principles. He says "the quantum efficiency is near perfect" or 100 percent. Does that mean that whatever portion of the electromagnetic spectrum a plant wants to use gets converted to nearly the same energetic value of chemical energy in the plant?
ok, here is the rest of the interview.
part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Gj_7uqkPbE
part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-w_HsdZnpF4&feature=related
In part 3 he gets into some details about how we can mimic natures design principles for our energy. He mentions one reason plants are such efficient solar converters is that they are always rebuilding the catalyst which splits the water and stores the solar energy as chemical energy. I believe plants' catalyst is some type of manganese molecule. This translates to maintenance for human-made solar mimicry. However, MIT's Prof. Dan Nocera has already solved this issue as his cobalt-phosphate catalyst, apparently the most biological-esque with "self-healing" properties. The cobalt-phosphate in water is continuously being refreshed. This means that salt-water, urine, and generally dirty water can be used as fuel sources. Solar with water is looking good for the future.
What do you guys think?