Definitions for optical activity
op·ti·cal ac·tiv·i·ty

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1. optical activitynoun

   the ability of a chemical compound to rotate the plane of plane-polarized light. This is found only in chemicals whose molecular structure does not have a plane of symmetry, and is common in biochemical compounds. -- optically active adj.

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1. optical activitynoun

   a property caused by asymmetrical molecular or crystal structure that enables a compound or crystal to rotate the plane of incident polarized light

2. optical activitynoun

   A measure of the amount of optical rotation produced by a standard amount of a substance

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. optical activity

   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. When looking at the source of light, the rotation of the plane of polarization may be either to the right (dextrorotatory or dextrorotary — d-rotary, represented by (+), clockwise), or to the left (levorotatory or levorotary — l-rotary, represented by (−), counter-clockwise) depending on which stereoisomer is dominant. For instance, sucrose and camphor are d-rotary whereas cholesterol is l-rotary. For a given substance, the angle by which the polarization of light of a specified wavelength is rotated is proportional to the path length through the material and (for a solution) proportional to its concentration. Optical activity is measured using a polarized source and polarimeter. This is a tool particularly used in the sugar industry to measure the sugar concentration of syrup, and generally in chemistry to measure the concentration or enantiomeric ratio of chiral molecules in solution. Modulation of a liquid crystal's optical activity, viewed between two sheet polarizers, is the principle of operation of liquid-crystal displays (used in most modern televisions and computer monitors).

How to pronounce optical activity?

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How to say optical activity in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of optical activity in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of optical activity in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

References

1. ^ GCIDE
   https://gcide.gnu.org.ua/?q=optical activity
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Optical_Activity
3. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_Activity