Optical isomerism

Optical isomerism is stereoisomerism in which molecules exist as non-superimposable mirror images and, under suitable conditions, rotate plane-polarized light in opposite directions.

Chirality (chemistry): A property of an object or molecule that makes it non-superimposable on its mirror image. Optical isomerism arises when molecular structures are chiral.
Plane-polarized light: Light whose electric field oscillates in a single plane perpendicular to its direction of travel. Optical activity is detected by measuring how a sample changes its polarization direction.
Diastereomer: A stereoisomer that is not the mirror image of another stereoisomer. Unlike enantiomers, diastereomers can have different physical properties.
Chiral resolution: The separation of a racemic mixture into its individual enantiomers. It produces optically pure forms from mixtures whose rotations cancel.
Stereochemistry: The study of the three-dimensional arrangement of atoms in molecules and its effects. Optical isomerism is one form of stereoisomerism.
Optical activity: The ability of a material to rotate the plane of linearly polarized light. It is the measurable physical property associated with optically active samples.
Meso compound: An achiral molecule with stereogenic centers and an internal symmetry element. Its stereogenic centers do not make the whole molecule optically active.
Enantioselective synthesis: A chemical synthesis designed to produce one enantiomer preferentially over its mirror image. It controls which optical isomer is made rather than separating them afterward.
Stereoisomerism: A form of isomerism in which molecules share connectivity but differ in spatial arrangement. It is the broader class that includes optical isomerism.
Specific rotation: A normalized measure of optical rotation defined for specified temperature, wavelength, path length, and concentration. It allows optical rotation to be compared across sample amounts and measurement paths.

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