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Chirality

Chirality

Chirality is a term that describes the lack of mirror symmetry in an object. In other words, chiral objects cannot be superposed on their mirror images. For example, our feet are chiral, as the mirror image of the left foot, the right foot, cannot be superposed on the left foot.
Chiral objects exhibit a sense of handedness when they interact with another chiral object. For example, our left foot can only fit in the left shoe and not in the right shoe. Achiral objects — objects that have...

Chirality in Nature

Chirality in Nature

Chirality is the most intriguing yet essential facet of nature, governing life’s biochemical processes and precision. It can be observed from a snail shell pattern in a macroscopic world to an amino acid, the minutest building block of life. Most of the snails around the world have right-coiled shells because of the intrinsic chirality in their genes. All the amino acids present in the human body exist in an enantiomerically pure state, except for glycine - the sole achiral amino acid.

Molecules with Multiple Chiral Centers

Molecules with Multiple Chiral Centers

Molecules that possess multiple chiral centers can afford a large number of stereoisomers. For instance, while some molecules like 2-butanol have one chiral center, defined as a tetrahedral carbon atom with four different substituents attached, several molecules like butane-2,3-diol have multiple chiral centers. A simple formula to predict the number of stereoisomers possible for a molecule with n chiral centers is 2n. However, there can be a lower number where some of the stereoisomers are...

Stereoisomerism of Cyclic Compounds

Stereoisomerism of Cyclic Compounds

In this lesson, we delve into the role of ring conformation and its stability, which determines the spatial arrangement and, consequently, the molecular symmetry and stereoisomerism of cyclic compounds. 1,2-Dimethylcyclohexane is used as a case study to evaluate the possible number of stereoisomers. Here, given the multiple (n = 2) chiral centers, there are 2n = 4 possible configurations that lack a plane of symmetry, as the ring skeleton exists in a non-planar chair conformation. In addition,...

Chirality at Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Sulfur

Chirality at Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Sulfur

Chirality is most prevalent in carbon-based tetrahedral compounds, but this important facet of molecular symmetry extends to sp3-hybridized nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur centers, including trivalent molecules with lone pairs. Here, the lone pair behaves as a functional group in addition to the other three substituents to form an analogous tetrahedral center that can be chiral.
A consequence of chirality is the need for enantiomeric resolution. While this is theoretically possible for all...

Prochirality

Prochirality

The concept of prochirality leads to the nomenclature of the individual faces of a molecule and plays a crucial role in the enantioselective reaction. It is a concept where two or more achiral molecules react to produce chiral products. A typical process is the reaction of an achiral ketone to generate a chiral alcohol. Here, the achiral reactant reacts with an achiral reducing agent, sodium borohydride, to generate an equimolar mixture of the chiral enantiomers of the product. For example, an...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 14, 2025

A Micropatterning Assay for Measuring Cell Chirality

A Micropatterning Assay for Measuring Cell Chirality

Published on: March 11, 2022

Chiral symmetry conservation principle.

Alejandro López-Castillo¹

¹Chemistry Department, UFSCar, São Carlos, Brazil.

|November 2, 2021

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

This study explores chiral symmetry conservation using chemical kinetics. Depending on symmetry conservation and correlations, our universe could be one of many chiral universes or a single universe with distinct chiral regions.

Keywords:

chiral symmetry conservation principle homochirality primordial chiral symmetry breaking symmetry breaking

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Coulomb Explosion Imaging as a Tool to Distinguish Between Stereoisomers

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Published on: August 18, 2017

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Oct 14, 2025

A Micropatterning Assay for Measuring Cell Chirality

A Micropatterning Assay for Measuring Cell Chirality

Published on: March 11, 2022

Construction and Systematical Symmetric Studies of a Series of Supramolecular Clusters with Binary or Ternary Ammonium Triphenylacetates

Construction and Systematical Symmetric Studies of a Series of Supramolecular Clusters with Binary or Ternary Ammonium Triphenylacetates

Published on: February 15, 2016

Coulomb Explosion Imaging as a Tool to Distinguish Between Stereoisomers

Coulomb Explosion Imaging as a Tool to Distinguish Between Stereoisomers

Published on: August 18, 2017

Area of Science:

Theoretical Physics
Chemical Kinetics
Cosmology

Background:

Chiral symmetry is a fundamental concept in physics and chemistry.
Understanding chiral symmetry conservation is key to comprehending universe asymmetry.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate chiral symmetry conservation principles based on chemical kinetics.
To explore the implications of chiral symmetry for the structure of the universe.

Main Methods:

Utilizing stochastic methods derived from chemical kinetics.
Analyzing scenarios based on the conservation or non-conservation of chiral symmetry.

Main Results:

If chiral symmetry is conserved and the universe is globally asymmetric, multiple mirrored universes may exist.
Weak or absent chiral correlations suggest a 'Many-(Chiral-Symmetry)-Worlds' scenario.
Local asymmetry implies a single universe with segregated chiral regions.
Primordial chiral symmetry breaking is only detectable if symmetry is not conserved from racemic conditions.

Conclusions:

The conservation status of chiral symmetry dictates possible cosmological scenarios.
Two opposing hypotheses regarding chiral universes arise from this analysis: either our universe is alone and asymmetric, or multiple chiral universes exist.