optical activity
- the ability of a substance to rotate the plane of polarization of plane-polarized light.
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Origin of optical activity
First recorded in 1875–80
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
optical activity
- the ability of substances that are optical isomers to rotate the plane of polarization of a transmitted beam of plane-polarized light
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
optical activity
- The property of an asymmetrical molecule in solution to rotate the plane of polarized light either clockwise or counterclockwise.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.