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Chiral Material
image:Manoderecha.svg, 300px, The direction of current flow and induced magnetic flux follow a "handness" relationship The term chiral describes an object, especially a molecule, which has or produces a non-superposable mirror image of itself. In chemistry, such a molecule is called an ''enantiomerism, enantiomer'' or is said to exhibit ''chirality'' or enantiomerism. The term "chiral" comes from the Greek language, Greek word for the human hand, which itself exhibits such non-superimposeability of the left hand precisely over the right. Due to the opposition of the fingers and thumbs, no matter how the two hands are oriented, it is impossible for both hands to exactly coincide. Helices, chiral characteristics (properties), chiral media, order, and symmetry all relate to the concept of left- and right-handedness. Types of chirality Chirality describes that something is different from its mirror image. Chirality can be defined in two or three dimensions. It can be an intrinsic pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chirality With Hands
Chirality () is a property of asymmetry important in several branches of science. The word ''chirality'' is derived from the Greek language, Greek (''kheir''), "hand", a familiar chiral object. An object or a system is ''chiral'' if it is distinguishable from its mirror image; that is, it cannot be wikt:superpose, superposed (not to be confused with wikt:superimpose, superimposed) onto it. Conversely, a mirror image of an ''achiral'' object, such as a sphere, cannot be distinguished from the object. A chiral object and its mirror image are called ''enantiomorphs'' (Greek, "opposite forms") or, when referring to molecules, ''enantiomers''. A non-chiral object is called ''achiral'' (sometimes also ''amphichiral'') and can be superposed on its mirror image. The term was first used by Lord Kelvin in 1893 in the second Robert Boyle Lecture at the Oxford University Junior Scientific Club which was published in 1894: Human hands are perhaps the most recognized example of chirality ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
