Artificial Photosynthesis
2010 U.S. Symposium
Alan Heyduk
University of California, Irvine
Artificial photosynthesis is the buzz word used by scientists aiming to mimic the energy conversion and storage system used by Mother Nature. In natural photosynthesis, plants acknowledge two undeniable facts. First, that the Earth is bombarded with massive quantities of energy by the sun: 100--thousand terawatts or 1014 kJ per second. Second, that the most efficient way to store energy is in the form of chemical fuels: glucose packs nearly 15 kJ of energy into a single gram of material. The study of artificial photosynthesis is then science's attempt to develop methods outside of the plant to capture the sun’s radiant kinetic energy and to convert it into potential energy in the form of a fuel that can be stored, moved, manipulated, and eventually 'burned' to power our modern world. This presentation provides a brief introduction into the magnitude of the rapidly approaching energy problem and the reasons to pursue artificial photosynthetic strategies to help solve it.
Note: This is an edited video/audio file of the Kavli Frontiers of Science symposium series. Opinions and statements included in theis audio/video file are solely those of the presenter and are not necessarily adopted or endorsed or verified as accurate by the National Academy of Sciences.
