lol if HPS light were a simple carb to the plant would not live nevermind thrive!
the medicine is in the terpenes? what are you even talking about with that statement bro?
why did i get exceptional smelling and tasting buds without the short wavelengthed light? i just dont buy it at all.
I will try explaining one more time. Again, the carbohydrate statement was a metaphor. And the reason the HPS grows big buds is because they have a high intensity in the yellow spectrum which is close to the red spectrum. The red spectrum is responsible for leaf growth. But, that's what you are getting under a HPS light, a bunch of leaf growth full of THC containing trichomes and not much more(not as much proportionally to PUR grown buds). The medicinal properties of cannabis are found in the terpenes. This is what makes each strain of cannabis unique in its own way. The THC combines with these terpenes which give us the different flavor, i.e. lemon skunk, cali-orange, grape crush, romulan pine. etc. The reason the different strains can assist with different medical conditions is due to the terpenes (aroma). Have you ever heard of aroma therapy? THC isn't the sole ingredient that is responsible for the medicinal properties of cannabis. In fact, it really only contributes to the psychoactive properties. There is a plethora of information that has been posted within this thread, and many others that explain what I'm talking about. It's fairly new information, that's why you don't understand it yet.
Getting back to the red light. You have to think of red light as the gasoline for plants. Red light is responsible for wide, giant leaves. The way I see it, the reason red light is there is to allow the plants to absorb more blue light. I like to think of blue light as the magical portion of the spectrum. Blue light is responsible for the reaction that takes place within the plant to produce the terpenes, or essence. This is where the real healing properties come in to play. If you want me to, I can find the articles that explain this better. I'm not the best when it comes to wording and explaining facts. Hopefully I haven't confused you any more.
The reason the T5 buds are smaller is because they don't have the GIANT SPIKE of yellow/red light that the HPS lights have. I'm willing to bet that if you were to take 1 gram of HPS grown bud and 1 gram of PUR T5 grown bud and then do a chemical analysis of THC, CBD, TERPENES, etc. that the PUR T5 would be way more concentrated with the important essential healing elements. Read these, they will help you understand the synergistic relationship between THC and Terpene.
berkeleypatientscare.com/2010/10/08/terpenes-terpenoids-and-cannabis/
http://www.neartic.com/Pain_Management/What_Are_Terpenes_in_Marijuana-id39003.html
http://biol1114.okstate.edu/study_guides/labs/lab7/lab7.htm
http://cronodon.com/BioTech/Plants_FAQ.html
http://www.ehow.com/about_6744341_effect-infrared-light-plant-growth.html
I didn't say HPS buds are "full of cellulose." Leaves ARE cellulose. The HPS will grow buds bigger because the bud structure is made up of plant cells, or cellulose, and red light will increase cell production, but will not increase resin/thc/terpene production on a proportional energy level. The red light makes plants more capable of absorbing all light. And to answer your question about the HPS/UVb experiment you did, of course it is going to work. Any additional light spectrum that you add to HPS is only going to make it that much better. UVb has been shown to increase resin production and is the ONLY wavelength that penetrates the capitate(sphere) on the trichome. Not sure if I worded that right. Scientists believe UVb light is responsible for letting the terpenes be released through the disc cell so that it can combine with THC more efficiently within the lower portion of the sphere. Does this help you at all? I think you need to grab some of these specific T5 bulbs and try it for yourself to fully understand. BTW which T5 bulbs are you using currently?