When plane-polarized light enters a crystal it divides into right- and lefthanded circularly polarized waves. If the crystal possesses handedness, the two waves travel with different speeds, and are soon out of phase. On leaving the crystal, the circularly polarized waves recombine to form a plane polarized wave, but with the plane of polarization rotated through an angle αt. The crystal thickness t is in mm, and α is the optical activity coefficient expressed in degrees/mm. The polarization vector of the combined wave can be visualized as a helix, turning α ◦/mm path length in the optically-active medium. Because of the low symmetry of a helix, optical activity is not observed in many high symmetry crystals. Point groups possessing a center of symmetry are inactive. In relating α to crystal chemistry it is convenient to divide optically-active materials into two categories: Those which retain optical activity in liquid form, and those which do not. It has long been known that optically-active solutions crystallize to give optically-active solids. This follows from the fact that molecules lacking mirror or inversion symmetry can never crystallize in a pattern containing such symmetry elements. Thus one way of obtaining optically-active materials is to begin with optically-active molecules, as in Rochelle salt, tartaric acid and cane sugar. Few of these crystals are very stable, however, and the optical activity coefficients are usually small, typically 2◦/mm. The same is true of many inorganic solids, though they are seldom optically active in the liquid state. For NaClO3 and MgSO4·7H2O, α is about 3◦/mm. Quartz and selenium, however, have coefficients an order of magnitude larger, showing the importance of helical structures to optical activity. Both compounds crystallize as right- and left-handed forms in space groups P312 and P322, with helices spiraling around the trigonal screw axes. Quartz contains nearly regular SiO4 tetrahedra with Si–O distances of 1.61 Å. Levorotatory quartz belongs to space group P312 and contains right-handed helices; enantiomorphic dextrorotatory quartz crystallizes in P322. Trigonal selenium also contains helical chains.
Predominantly left-handed circular polarization in comets: Does it indicate L-enantiomeric excess in cometary organics?
