So I made a thing.
The green on this graph shows where chlorophyll b absorbs (the type mostly used by plants). You can see it catches light in two places. Near 450nm (the blue end of the spectrum) and around 650nm (in the red).
The two lines show the wavelengths emitted by LED lights. Blue is cool white and red is warm white. Both have a spike in emission around chlorophyll's blue absorption and broad emission over the red absorption.
In other words, this is why houseplants like LED lighting!
Because @piponfishing was asking me about it before, so I thought I'd make something to show how it all works.
@InvaderXan does it depend on the type of plant? I have LEDs all throughout my home and my aloe plants always wilt a bit until we set them outside for a few days
@lemememeringue
This sounds like a matter of type of plant and intensity of light. Aloe plants like bright light, often full sun. Indoors, if it isn’t sitting directly under a strong enough light source, it may not be getting enough. I think that’s what’s going on, anyway.
@InvaderXan
Super cool. (I take it you found the data you were looking for)
@thelibrarian
Well, some of it. I only got data for chlorophyll a and b, and I still don't have anything for bacteriochlorophyll.
@InvaderXan @thelibrarian
What data are you looking for?
@InvaderXan @thelibrarian Hmm? Is https://omlc.org/spectra/PhotochemCAD/html/122.html and https://omlc.org/spectra/PhotochemCAD/html/125.html what you are looking for?
Otherwise I only have a few papers lying around on different lighting and how they affect plants.
@attilakinali @thelibrarian
Thanks, but I found those two already. When I was looking a few years ago, I found a downloadable set of lab spectra for various biological pigments, including chlorophylls c-f and bacteriochlorophylls.
Guess I’ll just keep looking!
@InvaderXan @thelibrarian I'll try and ask some of my biology friends. Maybe they have an idea where such data could be found.
@InvaderXan @attilakinali
I have continued to look for this. No real luck, yet. Here are some of the things I discovered though:
Spectral Database for Organic Compounds
https://sdbs.db.aist.go.jp
USGS Spectroscopy Lab
https://speclab.cr.usgs.gov/
Royal Society of Chemistry
http://www.chemspider.com/
Another librarian's list of spectra data sources
https://research.lib.buffalo.edu/spectra/spectra
There is an interesting blog here: https://phototroph.blogspot.com/2006/11/pigments-and-absorption-spectra.html
(Assuming this isn't you, Dr. Xan )
@thelibrarian Oh wow, thank you very much! And no, that’s not my blog, but it’s very detailed. Time for some reading, I think...
@InvaderXan I didn't know they did!
@anarchiv
You do now!
@InvaderXan Thanks to you!
@InvaderXan that's also why greenhouse led glow lamps look pink right? bc it's red and blue LEDs?
@kit
That's exactly right!
@InvaderXan You beautiful geek.
@blankideogram
*takes a bow*
@InvaderXan should be added to a wiki
@kropot
Yes, it probably should. You're welcome to use it, by the way...