chemosynthesis is the twin sibling to photosynthesis. both create glucose/organic matter by harnessing carbon, but chemosynthesis uses explosions instead of light.
the oxidation of elemental sulfur to sulfate (S2O2-4) releases 150 kcal/mol of energy presumably as heat. imagine sulfur as a fat slow grey globe, hovering around weighed down by its swarming cloud of dense electrons. it is slow and cumbersome - it is fully reduced. it's charge has been reduced by all the negative electrons.
oxygen is a black hole-like void. it hovers around sucking anything towards it, often to form a bond to it. when oxygen sucks up the electrons of something nearby, the target got oxidized.
the explosion occurs when the electrons move. depending how fast oxygen is able to rip those electrons away, the bigger the explosion. if the electron is weak and oxygen rips it away super fast and strong, presumably more energy is released. often a bond remains as a result
heat itself speeds up molecules. heat can add energy to a system and break bonds between elements. heat makes atoms move faster, which can then slam into each other at higher speeds.
chemosynthesis and cell respiration, life at a basic level, want one thing: fold carbon into interesting useful shapes, to create physical mechanical assets. using chemical reactions and enzymes, exogenous carbon can be ingested, processed, and turned into biomass matter.
a photon doesnt have mass. its analog of mass is its wavelength, eg the way photons move will follow the stereotypical ways a wave would move. so photons have a wavelength based on how fast theyre going. therefore photons have that characteristic (their wavelength) and it moderates how it interacts with matter, the same as 'mass' would moderate how a 'particle' interacts with matter
photons do act like particles too, though. a photon would say, "i'm a special snowflake, look at my cool unique wavelength. its my own special way to interact with other things. its a flavor of interaction. other photons have different wavelengths so they have their own flavor of interaction."
photons are abstract. they are more of a confluent ebbing force, an energy that pushes through spacetime.
