Is it possible to grow vegetation and fruit with artificial sunlight?
I'm curious to think if technology can be implemented to reproduce artificial sunlight and can have some or all attributes of actual solar energy, can it be used to grow vegetation and fruit? Is this invention out yet or is it just a far stretch of the imagination?
Do we have this technology at this time? (And I'm not talking about flash lights, lamps, or solar panels)
I do understand that the sun is free and it gives off free energy without charge. And I wouldn't mind spending a few bucks on some bulbs to produce this effect, but I wouldn't also spend more than what is actually needed.
But I would be curious to know if these kind of inventions get more advanced with progression, it may be used for application purposes. If say, some environments don't get enough sunlight to even grow vegetation.
Yes, bulbs and tubes have been around for around 20 or more years, which are capable of providing exactly the same levels of each wavelength of sunlight. Sunlight isn't the best kind of light for all plants, though. The large proportions of certain UV wavelengths can cause genetic damage to plant epithelial cells, causing mutation, just as an example. As a result, most advanced grow lamps only tend to provide plants with the wavelengths of light that they actually need and use. This includes all colours of white light, excluding the wavelengths that make up the green proportion of the spectrum, as these wavelengths are just reflected right off of the leaf. UV light is usually excluded from a lot of lights, since it is wasteful and potentially harmful.
A lot of lamps that can mimic sunlight in wavelength, often aren't as powerful as sunlight itself. A bulb that would perfectly mimic sunlight would probably be wasted on growing fruit and vegetables. They are much more valuable for indoor cultures and plants that enjoy intense light. Sunlight bulbs are available, if you're willing to pay out of the nose for one. Most of these bulbs are around 500+W power rating, so cost a lot to run. They also cost a lot in the first place. Self-ballasting bulbs might cost around £500 and bulbs that are externally ballasted might only be around £150, but the external ballast is likely to cost around £500.
If you want a bulb for growing fruit or vegetables, then opt for a cheap fluorescent tube type, coupled with a reflector. Ideally, go for a tube designed for fruiting and vegetable growth. However, the sun is free and there to use, so why not use it. Almost all energy on earth originates from the Sun in the first place, anyway.
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