Minerals also have "photosynthesis":
Peking University announced on April 24 that Lu Anhuai, a professor at the School of Earth and Space Sciences, has cooperated with American scholars to prove that inorganic minerals can also be converted into solar energy systems, that is, there is "mineral photosynthesis." The results were published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on April 22, 2019.
Through an in-depth systematic observation and analysis of rock/soil samples in the typical geomorphology of Gobi, desert and southern karst and red soils in northern China, Lu Anhuai found that the surface of rock/soil granules directly exposed to sunlight is generally covered with iron and manganese. Covered by (hydrogen and oxygen) oxide “mineral film”, the “mineral film” output characteristics and development status are closely related to sunshine. It is confirmed that inorganic minerals on the earth's land are also an important class of solar energy absorption and conversion. Based on this, the team newly proposed that mineral photoelectrons are the third form of energy theory that is ubiquitous on the surface. This new discovery expands the classic photosynthesis model and provides a new model for the energy source of the Earth's life activities and the surface geochemical process to absorb and utilize solar energy. It also provides an important reference for the conversion of solar energy to the surface minerals of the planets in the solar system, such as Mars. Will have a profound impact.
Researcher Lin Rongcheng, director of the Key Laboratory of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, believes that this discovery has greatly expanded the human understanding of solar energy utilization in nature, and also provides a new perspective for studying the origin of photosynthesis systems and artificial photosynthesis.