We had started off thinking of how we can unite physics and biology together in the same experiment. After thinking about plants and electricity we thought we could see if electrically functioning lights can succeed in substituting the sun light. We had decided to use two different artificial lights with different colors and the sunlight. We had also thought that we would need a plant that is easy and a fast grower. We couldn’t provide ourselves with some genetically modified seeds as we didn’t have the contact, but instead we decided to use lentils as they are the fastest growing plant we had the possibility of acquiring. We then thought about the soil in which the plants would be placed. We thus decided to also have three different types of soil. The first is organic, the second is moist organic, and the third is woody soil. The next problem was the question of how to set up the apparatus. What is required out of the apparatus is that it can provide a close environment that would not let any light come in. the main goal is to be able to feed the plants with only the artificial lights, it must be ensured that no other alien light can come in. The containers we used had some holes to allow for oxygenation, they were cardboard boxes. The fact that they were cardboard boxes made them easier to craft and manipulate to our desire. The dimension of the 2 boxes was of 36cmx27cmx14cm, which was the closest we could obtain to perfect. The best measurements we could’ve obtained would’ve been of at least the double. The next part of the strategy is to install the lamps inside the boxes in such a way so that it could give equal amounts of light to each of the set of plants. We did so by cutting a perfect hole halfway on the top part of the box, in such a manner that when the lamp is placed it would shine on the plants. Inside the box are three 8x8x8 pots, each with a different kind of soil. The main problem that we have faced now, is how we would keep the plants watered, and of course we cannot keep the lights on for 24 hour cycles, seeing it would not give a properly accurate simulation of the sun light and would risk burning the cardboard. This is necessary for the timing was bad, the experiment was set and needed maintaining during a period in which we would have to be absent. We had the least trouble with the control, as we only had to place it in a window which had a lot of sunshine, and water it, like a normal plant. We have resolved the problem of the light being kept on for some periods of time by the use of a timer which would be programmed to turn the lights on and off as desired. We decided to program the timer to have 40 minute intervals between each 20 minutes of “shining” sessions. The reason behind the long interval is because of a few reasons. First we were afraid that if the light was kept on for long it would set the cardboard on fire, as the filament might heat up to such an extent it would be hot enough to set fire; which meant danger for the entire establishment. The second reason for this interval is because we worried the intense heat inside the box might kill the plants. To keep the plants watered whilst not being there we had a supervisor able to do it, water them for us twice a day, when he arrived to the work place and before he left. We had chosen to put 18 germinated seeds in to each pot. This was to increase the chances of growth as we didn’t know which was the optimum depth the seeds had to be planted at. The germinating of the seeds took 24 hours. The temperature inside the boxes reached some 44 degrees, otherwise it would stay at ambient temperature. We had three sets of three pots with different soils. One with a yellow light, another with a purple one, and another that was in the natural state, which was used as a control. The natural set was sunbathed with natural sunlight. The color choosing was set with an intensity measurer. The given intensities were that the purple light gave off a 4,0 lux intensity and the yellow one a 3.76 lux intensity. We had hoped for greater difference in intensity but this was the best we could do. The experiment was recorded for a period of 12 days. We then needed to record the temperature inside at different times to make sure it didn’t get too hot. We would see which set grew the best, measuring the tallest lentil with a ruler. Change would be measured each day with a ruler. The pots were differentiated by use of markers, the red marker symbolized woody soil, the white symbolized the organic soil, and the green stood for moist organic.
