Optical isomerism
Optical Isomerism
Optical isomerism is a form of stereoisomerism that is observed in organic and inorganic molecules with a specific spatial arrangement, leading to non-superimposable mirror images. This phenomenon is due to the presence of a chiral center in the molecule.
Pronunciation
Op-ti-cal i-so-me-rism
Etymology
The term 'optical isomerism' is derived from the Greek words 'optikos' (meaning 'seen') and 'isos' (meaning 'equal') and 'meros' (meaning 'part'). It refers to the fact that these isomers can rotate plane-polarized light in different directions.
Description
Optical isomers, also known as enantiomers, are pairs of molecules that are non-superimposable mirror images of each other. This is due to the presence of a chiral center, usually a carbon atom with four different groups attached to it. The existence of these isomers gives rise to the property of chirality in molecules.
The two enantiomers of a molecule are distinguished by the direction in which they rotate plane-polarized light. One enantiomer (the 'right-handed' one) will rotate the light clockwise, or to the right (dextrorotatory), while the other enantiomer (the 'left-handed' one) will rotate the light counterclockwise, or to the left (levorotatory).
Related Terms
See Also
This WikiMD.org article is a stub. You can help make it a full article.