For many centuries, people believed that the increase in the size of a plant was caused by the intake of material from the soil. It was not until a Belgian physician, Jan Baptista van Helmont (circa 1577-1644), performed an experiment that demonstrated conclusively what we accept today: the increase in the size of a plant is not due simply to the plant obtaining a mystery substance from the soil; plants gain what they require through the process of photosynthesis.
Photosynthesis uses energy from light captured by photosynthetic pigments, and splits water molecules in the process. The plants fix carbon from carbon dioxide into glucose and fructose chains and oxygen is released as a byproduct. In many plants the sugars then combine to form long chains known as starches. Many plants store their photosynthetic products this way. Continue reading ‘Chromatography of Spinach’
