• Question: What is the difference between chirality and spin?

    Asked by Katia55 to katy, Anais on 11 Mar 2016.
    • Photo: Katy Kellett

      Katy Kellett answered on 11 Mar 2016:

      Very clever question.

      Chirality is easiest understood if you look at your hands, they look identical but you can’t superimpose them. That is to say they are mirror images of each other. The same can be true for chemicals, they may look identical but when you try to put them on top of each other you can’t. This is a very important concept when it comes to drugs. Because one of the mirror images may work perfectly, cure the disease its designed to, but the other mirror image could have either no effect on the disease, or could be toxic to the body. So we need to be very careful when we design these drugs for people.

      Now spin, I am now sure which type of spin you are referring to…could you clarify and I will try and answer?

    • Photo: Anais Kahve

      Anais Kahve answered on 13 Mar 2016:

      Hi Katia, do you mean magnetic dipole spin? If an electron, for example, were to spin on an axis, a magnetic field would be created. Due to the planarity of the axis, the electron can either be oriented in an upwards or downwards direction. For example, the two electrons that are coupled together can either be oriented in an upwards or downwards direction (up, up or up, down or down, up or down, down). I hope this helps.

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