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John Carlos Baez

@mc - basically yes! But the aromatic groups appear to be optional. The reason tomatoes are red is 'lycopene':

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John Carlos Baez

@mc - and the reason carrots are orange is beta-carotene.

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John Carlos Baez

@mc - I got into this when I saw a bunch of autumn leaves again in Washington DC, and realized it's all due to quantum delocalization of electrons! I wrote about it here:

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johncarlosbaez.wordpress.com/2

418 I'm a Teapot

@johncarlosbaez @mc anthocyanin. How is it that I had never heard this word before last week and now it’s everywhere?

Benoît Valiron

@johncarlosbaez @mc is it somehow possible to guess the color from the length of the chain of carbons?

John Carlos Baez

@b3nb3n @mc - yes if you're smart enough, but I'm not. The frequency of vibration will be lower for longer carbon chains, just like for a violin string, but I bet the side-groups attached to the chains also affect the frequency - like the oxygens in curcurmin. So you should get the cleanest patterns for very simple chains like

C-C=C-C=C-C=C-C

(with appropriate hydrogens attached).

Compadre de Ogum :Ryyca:

@johncarlosbaez @b3nb3n @mc lycopene is red and is the longest chain you showed. Shouldn't it be the opposite? Longer = lower frequency?

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