Luxsynthesis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Luxsynthesis is the process by which Beckons and related organisms capture light and use its energy to build biomass. It takes place in the near-black outer tissue of the body and above all in the bulb. Like photosynthesis it takes in carbon dioxide and gives off oxygen in light, but its pigment absorbs light across the whole visible spectrum. In Beckons, luxsynthesis covers the organism's running costs; the production of field organisms is paid for from stored biomass.
The name was given by the Hyperbiology Division of H&A in 2020, from the Latin lux, light.
Mechanism
The light-gathering tissue is a layer a few centimetres thick under the membrane gel, which is transparent. Its pigment is near-black and absorbs light of every visible wavelength. The absorbed energy is stored in chemical form and used to fix carbon dioxide and to assemble biomass from nutrients brought in by the root mat. Oxygen is released as a by-product.
Part of the absorbed light is given off again as green light by a fluorescent pigment in the same tissue, the visible glow of a Beckon by day. The pigment is also driven at night by a light-producing reaction, and the brightness of the glow rises with the activity of the tissue.
Energy budget
Hyperbiology estimates that luxsynthesis converts about 3% of the light falling on a Beckon into chemical energy, against about 1% for most crops. A 30-metre Adapted Beckon collects light over about 100 square metres of crown and upper trunk and draws an average of roughly 500 watts from it in summer. The income is spent on maintenance, body heat and the manufacture of sulfur hexafluoride in the gas glands.
The production of field organisms costs far more than luxsynthesis provides. It draws on biomass stored in the root mat, most of it brought back by foraging field organisms and reabsorbed into the ground. A Beckon's rate of production is set by its soil and by what its foragers return.
Seasonal variation
Luxsynthesis peaks in Fullbloom and is at its lowest in Overwinter. Adapted Beckons store part of their summer income as sulfur hexafluoride, and recover it through the winter.
Other organisms
The internal bulb of a Vagrant also carries out luxsynthesis. Its glow is the colour of the Vagrant's own hive.