The Photosynthetic Building - Essay Example

The Photosynthetic Building The photosynthesis building contains plants that are enclosed in a transparent plastic container that is rectangular cylinder shaped. The plants are provided with artificial light in order for photosynthesis processes. This light contains the necessary light components found in the sun’s rays that promote photosynthesis. The container has a firm base and can stand on its own. The top of the container is partially closed to allow air circulation into and out of the container. Photosynthesis occurs naturally in nature. However, it can also be made artificially when plants are provided with the necessary components to photosynthesize especially from artificial sources of light (Baker 56). During this process, there is the conversion of energy from light into chemical energy. This chemical energy is then stored in sugar bonds. The process of photosynthesis takes place in the leaves. This is because the leaves contain chlorophyll that is a green component vital for this process. This pigment is stored in chloroplasts in the leaves. For photosynthesis to occur there has to be water, carbon dioxide and light energy. The parts of leaves involved in photosynthesis are the stomata, vascular bundles, epidermis (lower and upper) and mesophyll (Baker 36). The epidermis serves to protect the inner leaf parts. Stomata allow air to enter and leave the leaf. Carbon dioxide goes in and oxygen goes out. The vascular bundles are also referred to as veins. They form part of the transport system in the plants. Chloroplasts are found in the mesophyll. The chlorophyll in these chloroplasts absorbs blue and red light and use the energy for photosynthesis. The process of photosynthesis involves two stages. These are the light reaction stage and the dark reaction stage (Hall 85). The first one (light reaction stage) occurs in the membrane called thylakoid. This process results to the conversion of the energy found in light into chemical energy. This process occurs in light. The dark reaction stage takes place in the stroma. It involves the storage of the chemical energy from the light reaction stage. It converts carbon dioxide into sugar. This light can either be natural or artificial. In either way, plants need to make food for themselves. It does not matter whether the process is natural or artificial. Materials including plastic help to shape the plants inside artificial installations. Plants normally grow at the tip. There are two different kinds of growth in plants namely; the primary growth and the secondary growth. The first one called the primary growth involves the extension of the plant length both aboveground and belowground. The aboveground parts are called the shoot system. This starts as a shoot apical meristem (a region of high cell division that contributes to the plant extension). It is an apical meristem that is in the shoot system (Hall 63). This is in contrast to the root apical meristem that is in the roots. Therefore, a plant grows taller because of the shoot apical meristem activity. The shoot apical meristem is found at the tip of the plant stem, therefore the growth direction is upward from the stem top and not the bottom. The bottom leaves do not go anywhere but fall off the plant. A leaf is made up of a petiole and blade. The blade is the part that is flat and green usually thought of as the leaf. Petiole refers to the little stem which attaches the blade to the main stem. The axillary buds are found between the leaf primordial and the stem below. This is where new leaves form. These form branches that will form their apical meristems at the ends. Bud scales protect axillary buds. Bud scales refer to modified leaves which cover the delicate bud until it starts to grow into a shoot (Lawler 276). Most of the parts above are visible as they originate on the shoot apical meristem. It is made of and the apical dome. This is where the stem elongates. It is also made up of the leaf primordia that turn into leaves. The root system also has an apical meristem (the root apical meristem). It functions the same way as the shoot apical meristem. It therefore causes extension growth. The growth goes down into the ground. The roots are the ones that come from the root apical meristem and not branches or leave. As roots grow, they travel downward through the soil. The avoid obstacles such as rocks that might be in their way. They have a root cap. The root cap protects the root apical meristem as the root pushes its way through the soil. It also produces a slimy ooze which serves to lubricate the soil around the root tip. This helps the root on its way through the harsh soil (Lawler 48).  When seeds first start to germinate, the thing that is most important for the young plant is to get a good hold in the ground. In is a known fact that a plant produces a higher number of roots than shoots when it is young. This changes as it gets older. The amount of root structure becomes roughly the same as the amount of shoot structure. The underground root system often mirrors the aboveground shoot system (Lawler 98). If a plant encounters an obstacle, it deviates to find space that has no obstacle. In this manner, the plants will take the shape of the plastic containers in which they are installed. This is in contrast to the ones that grow in the wild where there are no defined plastic enclosures. These plants in nature grow and attain no specific shape. The plastic containers also affect factors such as light, humidity, nutrition, temperature, soil and water. The light in the plastic containers can be controlled in amount and intensity (Lawler 73). This affects the plant growth and can be used to control the rate of growth of the plant. Thus one can make the plant maintain a small manageable size. In the wild there is no such control and plants grow to whatever possible size. The temperature in these plastic containers is also very controllable. This has a measure of control on the amount of photosynthesis that occurs and as a result the amount of growth of the plant. In the wild, there is no such control and growth occurs to optimum levels. Humidity also serves to control the rate of photosynthesis and growth in plants grown in these plastic containers. The soil in these plastic containers contains the right kind of nutrients needed by the plants and their levels can also be controlled. The soil is also free of weeds and diseases as opposed to the wild plants that do not have such privileges (Lawler 438). Advantages of modern technologies in artificial plant growth include the advancements in genetic engineering that have resulted to better pest control in plants. These modern methods of controlling pests are very friendly to the environment. They are most biodegradable solutions. This is as opposed to the previous methods that resulted to release of harmful non-biodegradable products into the environment. Modern technologies have also resulted to the production of foods that have a higher concentration of nutrients. The genetic engineering has successfully eliminated ways in which the plants loose nutrients unnecessarily. They have also promoted and enhanced ways in which plants absorb nutrients. Modern technologies have also resulted in plant diagnosis with improved sensitivity and accuracy. The plants can grow and produce foods in environments with fewer amounts of the factors of photosynthesis in plants. Modern technologies have also resulted to foods that have better marketing and processing characteristics. In addition, the technologies have resulted to new ways of eliminating water and soil contaminants. Lastly, the modern technologies have led to the manufacture of plants which are currently manufactured from energy sources that are non-renewable. Disadvantages of modern technologies in artificial plant growth include the following. With the use of modern machines in plant production that result to the increased production, this results to the loss of jobs of many people. A machine can do the amount of job that can be done by many people. It can do this job in a more efficient and cost effective manner. These modern machines require people with technical know how to operate them. These modern machines also have a negative effect on the environment. They produce waste products that are harmful to the environment. In addition, modern technology is also very expensive. Aesthetics refers to the process of creating beauty and appreciating it (Lyas 98). Natural aesthetics involves natural beauty. The environment surrounding us is beautiful in its natural sense. It was made that way by God. The flowers that grow naturally in the wild are very beautiful. No one cultivates them or takes care of them but they manage to maintain their beauty. The natural forests have natural features that are very outstanding and magnificent. Such include the likes of waterfalls and geysers (Lyas 25). They create such scenes of beauty that cannot be found anywhere else. On the other hand, human-made aesthetics is artificial. It is beauty that is created by made. Such beauty can be found in works of art and craft. Drawings are very beautiful and so are sculptures made by man (Manns 234). Man has gone to the extent of creating features such as waterfalls and geysers. However, these lack the natural touch but are still beautiful. Works Cited Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Baker, N R, and J Barber. Chloroplast Biogenesis. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1984. Print. Hall, David O, and Krishna K. Rao. Photosynthesis. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1999. Print. Lawlor, D W. Photosynthesis. Oxford [England: Bios, 2001. Print. Lyas, Colin. Aesthetic and Personal Qualities. London: Aristotelian Society, 1972. Print. Manns, James W. Aesthetics. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, 1998. Print. Read More