---
id:"kb-2026-00335"
title:"Photosynthesis"
schema_type:"TechArticle"
category:"science"
language:"en"
confidence:"high"
last_verified:"2026-05-22"
generation_method:"ai_assisted"
ai_models:["claude-opus"]
derived_from_human_seed:true
primary_sources:
  - title:"Molecular Mechanisms of Photosynthesis (Blankenship)"
    type:"book"
    year:2021
    url:"https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Molecular+Mechanisms+of+Photosynthesis%2C+3rd+Edition-p-9781119800019"
    institution:"Wiley"
secondary_sources:
  - title: "MDN Web Docs — HTTP"
    type: "documentation"
    year: 2026
    url: "https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP"
    institution: "Mozilla"
  - title: "React Documentation"
    type: "documentation"
    year: 2026
    url: "https://react.dev/reference/react"
    institution: "Meta"
completeness: 0.88
ai_citations:
  last_citation_check:"2026-05-22"
---

## TL;DR

Photosynthesis converts light energy to chemical energy (glucose) using CO₂ and H₂O, releasing O₂. Two stages: light-dependent reactions (thylakoid membrane, produce ATP + NADPH) and Calvin cycle (stroma, fix CO₂ into sugar). C₃ plants (most), C₄ plants (corn, tropical), CAM plants (succulents) differ in carbon fixation.

## Core Explanation

Light reactions: photosystem II splits H₂O → O₂ + electrons, photosystem I produces NADPH, ATP synthase makes ATP. Calvin cycle: RuBisCO enzyme fixes CO₂ (most abundant enzyme on Earth). Equation: 6CO₂ + 6H₂O + light → C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂. Chlorophyll absorbs red and blue light (reflects green — why plants appear green). Photosynthesis produces essentially all atmospheric oxygen.

## Further Reading

- [Molecular Mechanisms of Photosynthesis (Blankenship)](https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Molecular+Mechanisms+of+Photosynthesis%2C+3rd+Edition-p-9781119800019)