optical activity

Table of Contents

Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Discover

Adolf Hitler (Nazi, nazism, German leader).

9 Things You Might Not Know About Adolf Hitler

Los Angeles Police Department wanted flyer on Elizabeth Short, aka the "Black Dahlia," who was brutally murdered in January 1947. The FBI supported the Los Angeles Police Department in the case, including by identifying Short through her fingerprints that

America’s 5 Most Notorious Cold Cases (Including One You May Have Thought Was Already Solved)

Saint Lucia Day. Young girl wears Lucia crown (tinsel halo) with candles. Holds Saint Lucia Day currant laced saffron buns (lussekatter or Lucia's cats). Observed December 13 honor virgin martyr Santa Lucia (St. Lucy). Luciadagen, Christmas, Sweden

7 Winter Solstice Celebrations From Around the World

Plato (left) and Aristotle, detail from School of Athens, fresco by Raphael, 1508-11; in the Stanza della Segnatura, the Vatican. Plato points to the heavens and the realm of Forms, Aristotle to the earth and the realm of things.

Plato and Aristotle: How Do They Differ?

Confucius statue at a Confucian Temple in Shanghai, China. Confucianism religion

What is the Difference Between Daoism and Confucianism?

Close up of books. Stack of books, pile of books, literature, reading. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society

12 Novels Considered the “Greatest Book Ever Written”

Santa Claus flying in his sleigh, christmas, reindeer

Was Santa Claus a Real Person?

optical activity: Facts & Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Also Known As	rotation, optical • optical rotation

Topics

specific rotation levorotatory dextrorotatory pleochroism double refraction Brewster’s law optical crystallography Faraday effect polarization optic axis

Key People

Werner Kuhn

Swiss chemist

Le Bel

Joseph-Achille Le Bel

French chemist

Frederic Stanley Kipping

British chemist