chirality

[prettygoodword]

chirality (kai-RAL-i-tee) - n., the property of not being superimposable on its own mirror image.


The adjective form is chiral. This is used in chemistry, physics, and mathematics, mainly, so a type of scientific jargon, but it's still cool. Coined in 1893 by Lord Kelvin from Greek root kheír, hand -- because hands are the objects we are most familiar with that have chirality.


Thanks, Anu Garg/A.Word.A.Day!

---L.

Comments

[minoanmiss]

Thank you, Lord Kelvin!

[prettygoodword]

He did a lot, that guy!

[sunlit_stone]

I like this one because--well one it's a neat kind of concept, but two I like the twistiness of it. The positive adjective applies to the negative attribute! And the negative to the positive, by the principal of double negation :P I'm assuming there's a reason for it but it's still pretty neat.

[prettygoodword]

Well, if you think of it in terms of handedness rather than asymmetry, it's a positive attribute.

[sunlit_stone]

--huh. I'm not sure I follow--oh, you mean the quality of being like hands (with respect to symmetry)? I suppose so! But I think defining it not in terms of hands makes more sense, useful though they are as an example, since even 'like hands with respect to symmetry' could mean a few different things.

[prettygoodword]

Or maybe in terms of having mirror symmetry versus self symmetry? Eh, whatever.

[sunlit_stone]

Lol--yeah--really not the most important point to settle. A neat word, regardless.