# Wavelength of bonding energy

1. Jan 29, 2006

### |Orion's Thought|

What is the energy wavelenth used by ATP? Or even, what kind of form is energy in when used to do work in cells? Electrical? Heat? Electromagnetic?

Last edited: Jan 29, 2006
2. Jan 30, 2006

Staff Emeritus
Electromagnetic, via the chemical bond. It stores the energy in the bond when it attaches the third phosphorus atom (becoming ATP from ADP). The energy is released in a cell by the breaking of that bond and it is electromagnetic in nature, I suppose manifested as electrical potential. I am not sure how it goes on from there; in muscle cells it would be converted into flexing of a molecule.

3. Jan 31, 2006

### Curious3141

What do you mean by wavelength ? De Broglie wavelength ?

Well, since one molecule of ATP gives around 10^(-19)J upon hydrolysis of the terminal phosphate residue, we have :

$$E = \frac{hc}{\lambda}$$

so $$\lambda$$ is http://www.google.com/search?hs=szY&hl=en&lr=&client=opera&rls=en&q=h*c/10^(-19)J&btnG=Search

around 2 microns, that's in the infrared photon region.

4. Feb 1, 2006

### |Orion's Thought|

what i was wondering more or less was if it was electricity or some other form of energy we can utilize to power objects, homes, etc.