chirality

British  

/ kaɪˈrælɪtɪ /

noun

1. Also called: dissymmetry.  the configuration or handedness (left or right) of an asymmetric, optically active chemical compound

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chirality Scientific  

/ kī-răl′ĭ-tē /

1. The characteristic of a structure (usually a molecule) that makes it impossible to superimpose it on its mirror image.

2. Also called handedness

3. See also helicity invariance optical isomer

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Other Word Forms

• chiral adjective

Etymology

Origin of chirality

C19: from Greek kheir hand + _-al ¹ + _-ity

Example Sentences

As it happens, many aspects of life exhibit chirality, or “handedness.”

From Salon

Chirality in molecules means they have a specific orientation in space such that the mirror image of the molecule in question cannot be perfectly superimposed on the original.

From Salon

So if you were to engineer synthetic mirror image versions of these, the amino acids would have right-handed chirality and the DNA would have left-handed chirality.

From Salon

Specifically, they found that by introducing chirality into the organic layers -- i.e., making the carbon chains in those layers asymmetrical -- they could effectively maintain the same stiffness and thermal conductivity even when making substantial changes to the composition of the organic layers.

From Science Daily

Now, researchers at Penn State have made the material potentially more useful by imparting chirality -- or handedness -- on it, which could make for advanced sensors and implantable medical devices.

From Science Daily