The first steps in vision in the classroom

Abstract

We examine, using the particle-in-the-box model, the transient absorption measurements of the cis-trans isomerization by the visual pigment rhodopsin present in the retina [R.W. Schoenlein et al., Science 254, 412 (1991)], which contains the retinene group, a conjugated system, which is formed by single and double carbon-carbon atoms, and works as a light antenna in the process of photon absorption. The present approach is directly applicable to the classroom in undergraduate chemistry and physics major courses.