Studying how a beam can be used to

accelerate ATP synthesis in a chloroplast

Adora Hallunej, Arnisa Hamzi, Eden Osja, Ermi Tafili, Jehona Çaku
Teacher: Edlira Tafili
“28 Nëntori” Highschool, Shkodër, Albania
Contents

1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 2
2. Why we want to go to CERN? .............................................................................................................. 2
3. Experiment description ......................................................................................................................... 2
3.1 Object of experimentation................................................................................................................... 2
3.2 Choice of target and medium .............................................................................................................. 3
3.3 Method ................................................................................................................................................ 3
4. What we hope to take away from this experience? ............................................................................... 5
References..................................................................................................................................................... 6

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 1. Introduction
Plants are life, is a slogan we hear all the time, and it in our brain an image of a straight stem with two or
three leaves, and a flower on top, is imprinted. This is how many people view it, but we, wearing the
glasses that physics equips us with, have a different view. We want to delve in the inner works of plant,
and study how exactly those particles work with one and other. It is no secret to us which primary sources
a plant uses to produce ATP, but what intrigues us the most is light, a vital energy source, but what about
its particle composition? Can we create a productive light that would not only ensure the production of
ATP, but also accelerate it?

2. Why we want to go to CERN?

We like to dream big. This is what we aim to do throughout all our journey in the great big world of
science. We may be five, but each of us possess knowledge in many different fields and sciences, all
brought together by physics, and to actually be at CERN ourselves, we could see our experiment come to
life, but also a unique experience, where we could try for ourselves the latest technology. Something out
of our reach currently due to the limited development level of physics in Albania.

3. Experiment description
3.1 Object of experimentation
The chemical process in which plants use co2, water and energy for the
production of glucose is called photosynthesis. The energy for this
process comes in earth in the form of light. Photons are the basic units
of light. Photosynthetic organisms have pigments that created the
ability of catching light wavelengths but they only use a part of the
specter which is visible light.
Blue light between 400 and 470 nm and green light between 470 and
570 nm are very strongly absorbed. Within every photosynthetic
eucaryotic organism chemical reactions happen in structures called
chloroplasts.

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A photon of light hits chlorophyll, causing an electron to be energized. The absorption of photons happens
in photosystems which are units made of chlorophyll molecules. The free electron travels through the
electron transport chain, and the energy of the electron is used to pump hydrogen ions into the thylakoid
space, transferring the energy into the electrochemical gradient. Our goal is using beam light in order to
speed the process of photosynthesis.

3.2 Choice of target, medium

Vital to this experiment is the usage of a specific scintillator, a CsI (Tl) to produce scintillation light,
because it is performant in areas such as light emission, emitting 54,000 photons/MeV. Additionally, CsI
(Tl) scintillators can be used for particle discrimination using pulse shape analysis since it has two
different decay times of 0.6 μs and 3.5 μs having two different decay processes. Light intensity from these
decay processes varies depending on types of particle interaction, hence particle discrimination can be
done from the shape of the pulse. This allows clean separations between different types of radiation.
Lastly, the thallium (Tl) atoms work as crucial activators allowing the scintillator to convert high energy
gamma rays to visible light rays with a wavelength of 540 nm.

In our research on the primary beam, from the PS (proton synchrotron) accelerator, we have concluded it
would be most favorable that the impinges on a graphite target. Graphite is selected for its ability to
produce a diverse range of secondary particles, including charged particles (pions, electrons) and gamma
rays, through interactions with high-energy protons from the PS.

3.3 Method
As the secondary particles are produced in the target, magnetic bending magnets and other beamline
elements are used to shape and steer the resulting secondary particle beam towards the experimental area.
Quadrupole magnets and steering magnets are used to focus and control the trajectory of the secondary
particle beam, ensuring that it is directed towards the CsI(Tl) scintillator detector setup.

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1 Scheme made by us
Within the experimental area, a CsI(Tl) scintillator detector is positioned to intercept the secondary
particle beam. As the secondary particles from the beamline interact with the CsI(Tl) scintillator material,
they deposit energy within the crystal lattice of the scintillator via ionization and excitation processes. The
deposited energy causes excited states within the CsI(Tl) crystal, leading to the emission of visible light
photons through the scintillation process mediated by the thallium (Tl) dopant atoms.

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Right below the scintillator a black box, containing our sample will be placed. This will ensure that the
only light source for the plant will be the produced photons, which will also be measured by a
luminometer, so that we know we produced the light beam we aimed to.

What is the energy of photons with a wavelength of 540nm?

ℎ𝑐
𝐸=
λ
m
(6.63 x 10 − 34 J · s) (3.00 x 108 )
𝐸= s x 10−9 m
540
−19
𝐸 = 3.68 x 10 J

This energy is sufficient for our experiment. Over the course of our stay we will track the sample
and mark our results.

4. What we hope to take away?

The experiment's expected results will be an acceleration of the photosynthesis process, resulting in
the production of more glucose. We conducted research and can base our theory on an experiment
that employed light therapy on mitochondria to make more ATP, which was valuable. Because we
began our project with a hypothetical questioning, we may not be able to demonstrate the efficiency
of employing a beam to produce photons, but this experiment will prove our assumption true or false
and will enable us to learn more about quantum physics by satisfying our curiosity.

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 5. References
Kobayashi, Tsuyoshi & Hori, Yoshimichi. (2000). Photosynthesis and water-relation traits of the summer
annual C4 grasses, Eleusine indica and Digitaria adscendens, with contrasting trampling tolerance.
Ecological Research. 15. 165 - 174. 10.1046/j.1440-1703.2000.00335.x.
Herbert, D.J. & Meng, Ling-Jian & Ramsden, David. (2002). Investigating the energy resolution of arrays
of small scintillation crystals. Nuclear Science, IEEE Transactions on. 49. 931 - 936.
10.1109/TNS.2002.1039592.
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research - section A (NIM-A) publishes papers on design,
development and performance of scientific instruments including complex detector systems and large
scale facilities which utilize or study ionizing radiation.
Miller, Stuart & Gaysinskiy, Valeriy & Shestakova, Irina & Nagarkar, Vivek. (2005). Recent advances in
columnar CsI(TI) scintillator screens. Proc SPIE. 5923. 10.1117/12.625927.

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