Concept information
Preferred term
optical activity
Definition(s)
- Optical rotation, also known as polarization rotation or circular birefringence, is the rotation of the orientation of the plane of polarization about the optical axis of linearly polarized light as it travels through certain materials. Circular birefringence and circular dichroism are the manifestations of optical activity. Optical activity occurs only in chiral materials, those lacking microscopic mirror symmetry. Unlike other sources of birefringence which alter a beam's state of polarization, optical activity can be observed in fluids. This can include gases or solutions of chiral molecules such as sugars, molecules with helical secondary structure such as some proteins, and also chiral liquid crystals. It can also be observed in chiral solids such as certain crystals with a rotation between adjacent crystal planes (such as quartz) or metamaterials. (Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_rotation)
Broader concept(s)
Synonym(s)
- circular birefringence
- optical rotation
In other languages
-
French
-
biréfringence circulaire
-
pouvoir rotatoire optique
URI
http://data.loterre.fr/ark:/67375/MDL-ZKG2FC3N-5
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