Botany is the study of living and dead plants. It's all about observing, reporting, and researching plants. A plant is defined as something that uses photosynthesis to generate energy and produce O₂ (Oxygen). This can include many different varieties of things, like trees, grass, flowers, moss, and anything green that uses photosynthesis. With more research, we can unlock many hidden secrets in nature, and use it to further progress almost all fields of science.

People who study Botany are referred to as Botanists. Their main goal is to preserve, extend, observe, record, and understand all kinds of plants. They do all these things with the assistance of Science. A botanist will use a variety of devices, like computers, cameras, microscopes, or a variety of other scientific gadgets.

Quite a few botanists go onto doctoral programs. This helps them educate and work in almost any environment. Botanists are required around the world, as every region on earth has a variety of plants that need to be studied. Studying is the only way we can learn more

Botany, however, isn't just limited to botanists. Many scientists know much about Botany, and it can be vital to their work, especially scientists that fall under Biology. This is because plants have a wide variety of uses medicinally and chemically.

Chemistry also factors into the use of botany, as they need to search for answers to important questions. Chemists use data collected from plants to figure out how to fix an organic problem, or even sometimes use it to solve an inorganic problem. An example of this would be the lotus plant and how it isn't particularly sticky. Chemists can break down the plant to its roots, and use that information for a better understanding of why it isn't sticky.

There has been a massive amount of information collected on botany. The Botany Library, made in the winter of 1965, houses around 50,000 different books, which includes journals as well. The information housed holds a wide variety of topics, plant systems, evolution, classification, and even all locations found naturally.

Photosynthesis is one of the main things that a scientist will study. It is a complex system which takes sunlight and turns it into energy. It also involves taking in carbon dioxide (CO₂) and turning it into clean oxygen (O₂). However, what is most interesting about this is the fact that although we know why it's happening, Botanists are only beginning to understand how it happens.

Many scientists, including Neil DeGrasse Tyson, theorize that once we figure out the inner workings of photosynthesis, we will have an infinite renewable energy source. This is because of the shear amount of energy a single plant can produce from photosynthesis. Unlike any other process, photosynthesis has close to 100% quantum efficiency. This means that almost all sunlight is converted into electrons (energy). For a real-world example, the solar energy we have created only operates at about 12-17%. This number alone is shocking, and shows how far we still need to go.

Botany advances almost every aspect of science. It helps us understand nature around us, as well as providing new and creative ways to improve humanity. As we come to learn about photosynthesis more, we will be able to advance into the next stage of human evolution.

Related Links: Science Biology Branches of Biology