jrandoboi
jrandoboi t1_irrt4bm wrote
That's a very interesting question. I found a link from Harvard that should explain it: https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/leaves/biological
The red pigments are antioxidants that help protect the leaves from sunlight as the chlorophyll is drained. The bright colors can also attract animals to the less colorful fruits or deter insects from laying eggs on the leaves that could damage them. I never really thought about it before
jrandoboi t1_j7a9apl wrote
Reply to comment by stu54 in Suppose I have a container of water with a ball floating on top of it. I put it outside overnight and the water freezes. Since the water's volume increases as it freezes, the ball is raised. Where does the increased gravitational potential energy come from? by schematicboy
Oh, so that's why water heats up slightly when it freezes... I could never quite understand that, thanks kind stranger