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Optical activity is measured by a polarimeter, and is dependent on several factors: concentration of the sample, temperature, length of the sample tube or cell, and wavelength of the light passing through the sample.
optical activity, the ability of a substance to rotate the plane of polarization of a beam of light that is passed through it. (In plane-polarized light, the vibrations of the electric field are confined to a single plane.)
The property of a compound being able to rotate the plane of polarization of plane-polarized light is called the optical activity, and the compound with such activity is labelled as optical active. The stereoisomer that is optical active is also called as optical isomer .
Optical rotation, also known as polarization rotation or circular birefringence, is the rotation of the orientation of the plane of polarization about the optical axis of linearly polarized light as it travels through certain materials. Circular birefringence and circular dichroism are the manifestations of optical activity.
Optical activity is the ability of a compound to rotate the plane of polarized light. This property arises from an interaction of the electromagnetic radiation of polarized light with the unsymmetric electric fields generated by the electrons in a chiral molecule.
A solution of optically active organic molecules is placed in a sample tube, plane-polarized light is passed through the tube, and rotation of the polarization plane occurs. The light then goes through a second polarizer called the analyzer.
From the vantage point of the observer looking directly at the analyzer, some optically active molecules rotate polarized light to the left (counterclockwise) and are said to be levorotatory, whereas others rotate polarized light to the right (clockwise) and are said to be dextrorotatory.