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If I were to take a harvest-able form of luciferin (algae or plankton), would it be possible to encapsulate the chemical and use it as a light source by introducing oxygen at my will?
Question Date: 2018-04-11
Answer 1:

No, you could not. Luciferin needs to interact with enzymes that extract the light from it (luciferaces), and these enzymes need chemical energy in order to recharge the luciferin once they've used it. You'd also need carbon dioxide, water, chlorophyll, and all of the other things necessary to create the chemical energy that life uses.



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