Photosynthesis and the Laws of Thermodynamics Photosynthesis Essay

Photosynthesis and the Laws of Thermodynamics

Photosynthesis is the systematic process used by plants as a means to harness solar energy. A semiconductor-based solar cell harnesses solar energy to convert it to electricity required by and used by humans. As such, the process of photosynthesis is a contributor to both plant and solar cells. There are numerous similarities and differences between plant and solar cells; however, they both ultimately work to produce energy. A plant cell is a structural and functional unit of a plant and characteristically has rigid cell walls Blankenship, 2011). With the simplest form of a plant cell, it forms a single cell constituting an entire organism, carrying out all life functions. One of the most conspicuous features of the plant cell is the presence of membrane bound organelles referred to as plastids. A photovoltaic or solar cell is a device that captures energy and transforms solar radiation to electricity through the photovoltaic effect.In order to generate power that is useful, the solar cell must form a group of cells that are interconnected, referred to as photovoltaic module or a solar panel. The amount of power generated by the solar cell is contingent upon the amount of natural or sunlight that falls on the solar panels. Weather can also be a determining factor in the amount of energy captured by solar panels (Blankenship, 2011).

Solar cells are man-made and only capture energy, while plants capture it in addition to storing it. Plant cells convert the energy of light into food through a process known as photosynthesis while solar cells (also called photovoltaic cell or photoelectric cell) are asolid state electrical unit that reconstruct the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect (Blankenship,2001); whereas, the biogenic migration of atoms is greatly increased through the numerous biogeochemical cycles that meet during photosynthesis. While differing from….....