photosynthesis
UK /ˌfəʊ.təʊˈsɪn.θə.sɪs/ · US /ˌfoʊ.toʊˈsɪn.θə.sɪs/ noun
Forms photosyntheses
- noun Principally, oxygenic photosynthesis, any process by which plants and algae convert water and carbon dioxide into carbohydrates and waste oxygen using solar energy.
- noun Also, nonoxygenic photosynthesis, used by purple and green bacteria, heliobacteria, and acidobacteria.
Webster’s 1913
- noun The process of constructive metabolism by which carbohydrates are formed from water vapor and the carbon dioxide of the air in the chlorophyll-containing tissues of plants exposed to the action of light. It was formerly called assimilation, but this is now commonly used as in animal physiology. The details of the process are not yet clearly known. Baeyer's theory is that the carbon dioxide is reduced to carbon monoxide, which, uniting with the hydrogen of the water in the cell, produces formaldehyde, the latter forming various sugars through polymerization. Vines suggests that the carbohydrate
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “photosynthesis”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details