What is optical isomerism a result of?
Chirality in molecules with a single chiral centre
Optical isomerism is a result of the chirality of a molecule. Chiral molecules are non-superimposable mirror images of each other and are characterized by having at least one stereogenic center, which is an atom that is attached to four different substituents. This creates two possible versions of the molecule that are mirror images of each other and cannot be superimposed on each other. These two versions of the molecule are called enantiomers. Enantiomers have identical physical and chemical properties except for their effect on plane-polarized light. This property is called optical activity and arises because each enantiomer rotates plane-polarized light in a different direction. Therefore, optical isomerism is a result of the chirality of a molecule and is the existence of enantiomers that have different optical activities.
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