What wavelength of light is most effective for photosynthesis?
Actually, chlorophyll a has two peaks of best efficiency, one in the blue part of the spectrum (around 430 nm) and one in the red part of the spectrum (680 nm); however, there are “associated pigments” which take advantage of almost every part of the visible spectrum, and most of the energy absorbed is passed along a line of receptors (losing bits along the way, of course) until the energy is equivalent to that absorbed at 700 nm. Photosynthesis is *least* effective in the green-yellow part of the spectrum, around 520-550 nm.
