BRAINCAKEOptical Isomers
Optical isomerism is a form of stereoisomerism. Stereoisomers have the same structural formula but a different arrangement of atoms in space.
A molecule with one chiral centre exists as two optical isomers, called enantiomers. Enantiomers are non-superimposable mirror images of each other.
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Key terms in this lesson
- plane-polarised light
- Light in which the vibrations occur in only one plane, produced by passing ordinary light through a polarising filter.
More in Optical Isomerism
- Chirality
- Plane-Polarised Light
- Racemic Mixtures
- Racemates from Nucleophilic Addition
- Identifying Chiral Centres
All 6 lessons in Optical Isomerism · All AQA A-level Chemistry topics