What type of energy exactly do plants receive from the sun?

Question

I’ve Googled and every source I come across just says “plants gather (light) energy from the sun and use it for photosynthesis.” What exactly is “light energy”? Is is some sort of radiation? Is it just heat?

In: Planetary Science

Answer 1

Light energy is just photons, tiny particles of light, that plants turn into food during photosynthesis. It’s not heat or radiation, but a solar all-you-can-eat buffet for plants!