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posted 26. February 2002 13:47
Does the association of spectral absorption bands in sunlight with the spectral response of photoreceptors in plants imply coincidence, adaptation or design?
by Forrest M. Mims
forrest.mims@ieee.org
ABSTRACT—The light-sensitive pigments in plants and seeds control and stimulate complex events that are key to the plant’s survival. Light-sensitive pigments respond only to specific wavelengths of sunlight, and there is a close association of the spectral response of plant and seed photopigments with various absorption features in sunlight caused by the solar atmosphere and gases in the Earth’s atmosphere. These associations cannot be seen in studies conducted indoors using laboratory spectrometers and standard lamps. However, they are very obvious when using the new generation of portable spectrometers outdoors under natural sunlight. Under the prevailing Darwinian paradigm, any relationships between the spectral response of plants and spectral markers in the solar spectrum must be attributed to coincidence or evolutionary adaptation. Since the available evidence does not yet qualify either of these explanations, intelligent design cannot be ruled out.
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-26 February 2002
[ 05 May 2002, 15:47: Message edited by: Moderator ]
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