dextro-rotatory
Definition
- Adjective:
- Chemical property: "dextro-rotatory" describes a substance that rotates the plane of polarized light to the right (clockwise) when viewed by an observer facing the light source. This term is used primarily in chemistry, especially in stereochemistry and optics, to characterize chiral molecules.
Usage Examples
- (The substance rotated light to the right in a laboratory test.)
- (The right-rotating form of the molecule had a biological effect.)
Advanced Usage
- "Dextro-rotatory isomer": a specific enantiomer (mirror-image form) of a chiral compound that rotates polarized light clockwise.
- The dextro-rotatory isomer of limonene smells like oranges, while the levo-rotatory isomer smells like lemons. (Different spatial arrangements cause different sensory properties.)
- "Dextro-rotatory sugar": a sugar, such as glucose, that exhibits right-handed optical rotation.
- Glucose is a common dextro-rotatory sugar used in metabolism. (Glucose rotates light to the right.)
Variants and Related Words
- Dextrorotation (noun): the phenomenon of rotating polarized light to the right.
- The dextrorotation of the solution was measured with a polarimeter. (The degree of rightward rotation was quantified.)
- Dextrogyrate (adjective): an alternative term for "dextro-rotatory," meaning the same property.
- The compound was dextrogyrate in its pure form. (It rotated light clockwise.)
- Dextro- (prefix): a prefix meaning "right" or "to the right," used in other scientific terms like "dextrose" (a right-rotating sugar).
Synonyms
- Right-handed: referring to rotation to the right (common in informal descriptions).
- The right-handed enantiomer is dextro-rotatory. (It rotates light clockwise.)
- Clockwise-rotating: describing the direction of rotation.
- The clockwise-rotating substance is dextro-rotatory. (It turns the plane of light to the right.)
Related Idioms
- No common idioms exist for this specialized scientific term.