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The chromophore

  • Chapter
Photomorphogenesis in plants

Abstract

Absorption of light quanta is the precondition for any photochemical reaction and hence for photobiological phenomena. Starting with white light, one can consider a ‘black body’ the ideal absorber in a physical sense because all wavelengths (i.e. all energy levels) of the light are equally absorbed. This situation is not realized in plants, however. The actual absorbers preferentially absorb certain wavelengths of the visible light but are more or less transparent for other wavelengths. After such an absorption, the remaining light looks coloured to the human eye. The absorbers are therefore called chromophores (= carriers of colours). Molecules which have the properties of such absorbers are called pigments. These terms are used here in such a sense that the entire molecule is called pigment whereas the particular part of the molecule which absorbs light is called its chromophore.

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Further reading

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Authors
  1. Wolfhart Rüdiger
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Plant Physiological Research, Agricultural University, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    R. E. Kendrick  & G. H. M. Kronenberg  & 

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© 1986 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Rüdiger, W. (1986). The chromophore. In: Kendrick, R.E., Kronenberg, G.H.M. (eds) Photomorphogenesis in plants. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2624-5_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2624-5_2

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-90-247-3317-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-017-2624-5

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