46 Artificial Photosynthesis 



the form of nitrite of ammonia, or something similar. 

 Thus the nitrogenous component is not difficult to 

 account for in natural conditions. 



It comes to this, then: that apart from life alto- 

 gether (except as represented by the ingenious 

 chemist) , it is possible to use light-rays so as to pro- 

 duce formaldehyde, sugars, and nitrogenous organic 

 substances. This is a very arresting result! As it is 

 practically certain that formaldehyde is the first 

 product of photosynthesis in the plant, we may ven- 

 ture to say that man has discovered at last how to 

 mimic a green leaf. 



It may be pointed out that the light of a mercury- 

 vapor lamp consists of wave-lengths much shorter 

 than those that occur in ordinary sunlight as it 

 reaches the earth to-day. But perhaps the sunlight 

 was not quite the same several hundred millions of 

 years ago. The better answer is that in some more 

 recent experiments Professor Baly has been able to 

 bring about the reactions referred to by using ordi- 

 nary light in the presence of certain "photo-cata- 

 lysts" of a complex nature, which probably play a 

 part analogous to that of part of the complex of pig- 

 ments known as the "chlorophyll" of the green leaf. 

 As it appears to us, Professor Baly's experiments 

 suggest forcibly that the natural synthesis of the raw 

 materials of the living organism is far from being out 

 of the question. 



Various objections may be urged against the 

 hypothesis that simple living organisms may have 



