Bioluminescent Poinsettias that glow in the dark will light up your Christmas.
Scientists from the Academia Sinica and the National Cheng Kung University in Taipei and Tainan have implanted glowing, sea urchin shaped gold nanoparticles, known as bio light emitting diodes, or bio LEDs, inside the leaves of a plant.
Chlorophyll, the photosynthetic pigment that gives leaves their characteristic green color, is widely known for its ability to absorb certain wavelengths of light.
However, under certain circumstances, such as being exposed to violet light, chlorophyll can also produce a light of its own. When exposed to light with a wavelengths of about 400 nanometers the normally green colored chlorophyll glows red.
For now, the effect is limited to the scientist's test subject, an aquatic plant known as Bacopa caroliniana but the process could just as easily be applied to plants and trees.
Read factlets by:
RSS feed
Email feed
