ext_22722 ([identity profile] theidolhands.livejournal.com) wrote in [community profile] 1word1day2016-08-24 10:12 am

Wednesday Word: Chirality

chi·ral·i·ty [kī-rāl'ĭ-tē]:
origin: [1894] Greek; kheir= hand.


2 examples of mirror image twins, hands are chiral because they can't be superimposed.


noun (adjective: chiral)
A mirror image that is not identical when laid on top of one another.

This word is most commonly used in chemistry to describe molecules and as described yesterday in Enantiomer they serve a particular challenge within the human body. A chiral molecule is actually a different molecule -- the flipped version -- a molecule that comes PAIRED (or attached) with its chiral twin is known as an enantiomer.

Chirality within Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland

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