The Science of Photochemistry!

What happens when matter interacts with light? Quite often matter absorbs light. It is then that Photochemistry, a sub-discipline of Chemistry, gets into action. Photochemists try to find answer to questions such as:

• How is light absorbed by matter?
  
• What happens to the molecule when absorbing light?
  
• Can light damage molecules?
  

The interaction of light with matter underlies a large number of natural phenomena, for example photosynthesis, the mechanism of vision, the tanning of our skin or, unfortunately, generation of skin cancer.

Photochemistry has already found numerous applications to everyday life, e.g. photochromic glasses, solar energy conversion, medical imaging, cancer therapy, etc.

Here you will find some recent research results in the field of Photochemistry worked out in the frame of e-knownet project. Selected "hot issues" from the up-to-date research are transformed into learning modules, called "Digital Exhibits", making use of innovative web technology.

The work was carried out under the auspices of the European Photochemistry Association (http://www.photochemistry.eu).

Editing Team

Scientific editors: Thomas Gustavsson , Roberto Improta, Dimitra Markovitsi
Cartoons - Scenario: Dimitra Markovitsi, Thomas Gustavsson; Design: Ghislain Aubry
Science Communication Editor: Glykeria Anyfandi
Content Administration: Christina Troumpetari, John Stoitsis
Technical Development: John Stoitsis
Animation and ICT material: David Phillips & CediS, Free University of Berlin.
Web material: Evlalia Amygdalaki