Why are plants green? And why aren't solar panels?

Question

Why green? I remember learning that black absorbs the most light -- hence the suckiness of a black shirt on a sunny day.

And if green's so great, why aren't solar a leafier hue?

I know plants are green because chlorophyll's green. Why is chlorophyll green as opposed to some other color? Natural selection is not arbitrary -- there must be something -about- green that caused so many plants to use it.

And with that in mind, if both plants and solar panels harvest sunlight to convert into energy, why aren't solar panels green?

I know plants are green because chlorophyll's green. Why is chlorophyll green as opposed to some other color? Natural selection is not arbitrary -- there must be something -about- green that caused so many plants to use it.

And with that in mind, if both plants and solar panels harvest sunlight to convert into energy, why aren't solar panels green?

Answer 1

Ok you all need a botany and physics class! The chlorophyll in plants appears green because it absorbs all the colors of the light spectrum except for green!

See the link below.

Solar panels need to absorb as much solar energy as possible, therefore they are black. Black is the inclusion of all colors and white is the absence of color. Therefore, the most energy is absorbed by a black solar panel and a white one would reflect all the energy away making it useless.

Answer 2

Chlorophyll absorbs other wave lengths except green and makes energy containing molecules. There are other substances in plants that absorb light and make molecules. These can be seen in the leaves of trees in the northeastern part of the USA in the fall as reds and yellows, after the chlorophyll has shut down. These pigments are accessory compounds to the chlorophyll during the summer or provide protection from excessive light energy. Chlorophyll is the most successful light converting pigment, though and has predominated in almost all plants and algae that convert sunlight into molecules that store energy.

The protein or its interaction with the magnesium ion at its core has this characteristic of not absorbing green light so well. Maybe someone else can help us with that.

Answer 3

Yes plants are green from chlorophyll, which means the plants absorb all the other spectrum of colors. The wavelength of green actually has the least amount of "power" to apply to photosynthesis. There are types of plants that have other light absorbing compounds but it seems through natural selection the greens have won.

Answer 4

ok, plants are green because they have a component called chlorophyll that is used to convert sunlight into energy and in the end starch (the plant's food).
the reason that solar panels are not green but rather a blackish color is because that absorbs energy, the whole black shirt in the summer idea.
Plants need sunlight to provide energy to make food but a solar panel is mainly used to absorb energy

Answer 5

Short answer: solar cells aren't made of chlorophyll, they are made of silicon compounds.

Longer answer: green absorbs adequate energy at the wavelengths required for the tree to live. It doesn't need any more energy than that, so why should it be a different colour? It's current design works. Solar cells are built to absorb as much energy as possible, there is no reason for for them to be any specific colour.

Philosophical answer: You are comparing apples to oranges; natural design to man made design, each with a different purpose.

Answer 6

Not all plants are green, my rose bush is a fine example; My rose bush has no green leaves, the roses bloom red, and the stems are brown.

Nonetheless, for plants that are green their green because of the Chlorophyll.

Chlorophyll is the green coloration in leaves. In the process of photosynthesis, it absorbs sunlight and uses its energy to synthesise carbohydrates from CO2 and water.

Answer 7

plants are green b/c of the chlorophyll in them. it absorbs the sun's rays and uses them to make energy in order to live. solar panels need to absorb UVA and UVB rays for a different reason. they are making energy as well, but by doing it a different way. they don't use chlorophyll.

Answer 8

plants are green because of chlorphil, you seem to know that already, but solar panels aren't green because they convert sun light into a different type of energy than plants do. I don't know that first thing about solar power but i do know about plants.

Answer 9

You're making this too complicated. Chlorophyll is green because of it's chemistry ... the wavelength of light emitted from the chlorophyll molecule ... nothing more.

Answer 10

image voltaic means could in simple terms approximately all fold the following day with out government money..that's been around because of the fact the early 50's and if it became that useful do no longer you think of inner maximum corporation's could be making it each and every the place via now and as for wind means it too could leave with out tax money preserving it alive.