By using water, air and some mineral substances obtained from the soil, plants produce sugar and starch which are the basis of all organic matter. This transformation is made possible by chlorophyll which takes the energy of sunlight. Chlorophyll then uses this energy to separate the atoms of oxygen, hydrogen and carbon which make up air and water and rejoins them to produce organic matter and oxygen gas.

This process of photosynthesis is an extremely delicate and complicated operation. Scientists have succeeded in producing artificial photosynthesis.