How chirality helps in polarsing?

  • Thread starter Thread starter jd12345
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Chirality
AI Thread Summary
Chirality refers to molecules whose mirror images cannot be superimposed, leading to optical activity where these molecules rotate the plane of polarized light. The key to this rotation lies in the unsymmetrical structure of chiral molecules, which interacts differently with light depending on its orientation. This interaction results in a measurable change in the plane of polarization. For further understanding, resources like Chemguide and Wikipedia provide detailed explanations of the underlying principles of optical activity and chirality.
jd12345
Messages
251
Reaction score
2
I have learned that molecules whose mirror images are not superimposable are chiral and it rotates the plane of polarisation by some degrees. But i don't understand how
How does unsymmetry help in rotating the plane of polarisation?
 
Chemistry news on Phys.org
The wikipedia page seems to offer quite a good explanation of what's going on: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_activity#Theory

I'm not sure what your level of current knowledge is, so if you have any trouble understanding that I'll be happy to explain it as best I can :)
 

Thread 'Humidity of a saturated NaCl solution with anticaking additive'

I want to test a humidity sensor with one or more saturated salt solutions. The table salt that I have on hand contains one of two anticaking agents, calcium silicate or sodium aluminosilicate. Will the presence of either of these additives (or iodine for that matter) significantly affect the equilibrium humidity? I searched and all the how-to-do-it guides did not address this question. One research paper I found reported that at 1.5% w/w calcium silicate increased the deliquescent point by...
View full post »

Thread 'Why does having 8 valence electrons make an element inert?'

I was introduced to the Octet Rule recently and make me wonder, why does 8 valence electrons or a full p orbital always make an element inert? What is so special with a full p orbital? Like take Calcium for an example, its outer orbital is filled but its only the s orbital thats filled so its still reactive not so much as the Alkaline metals but still pretty reactive. Can someone explain it to me? Thanks!!
View full post »

Thread 'Resists for etching Aluminium with NaOH'

I'm trying to find a cheap DIY method to etch holes of various shapes through 0.3mm Aluminium sheet using 5-10% Sodium Hydroxide. The idea is to apply a resist to the Aluminium then selectively ablate it off using a diode laser cutter and then dissolve away the Aluminium using Sodium Hydroxide. By cheap I mean resists costing say £20 in small quantities. The Internet has suggested various resists to try including... Enamel paint (only survived seconds in the NaOH!) Acrylic paint (only...
View full post »

Similar threads

Why and how chiral molecules rotate plane of polarisation?
Replies
4
Views
4K
I In Which N-Dimensional Spaces Are Rotations Chiral?
Replies
11
Views
2K
How to explain the phenomenon of optical rotation of chiral?
Replies
2
Views
2K
I Chiral symmetries in E[SUP]^n[/SUP]
Replies
1
Views
2K
Optical Activity: How Do Chiral Molecules Rotate Light?
Replies
5
Views
2K
Why Are Human Hands Considered Chiral?
Replies
3
Views
5K
Reason for Optical Isomerism (at electron level)
Replies
2
Views
2K
Chemistry Simple elementary question chiral molecule
Replies
1
Views
2K
How to show light from laser pointer is plane polarised?
Replies
5
Views
2K
Relationship between photochemical mechanisms and chiral molecules
Replies
2
Views
2K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top