Optical Activity of a Dilute Dielectric Medium: Pasteur and the Molecular Symmetries

TL;DR

This paper confirms Pasteur's 1848 hypothesis that molecular symmetries cause optical activity in dilute dielectric media, using electromagnetism and quantum mechanics to theoretically predict and experimentally support this phenomenon.

Contribution

It provides a theoretical validation of Pasteur's hypothesis by deriving optical activity from molecular symmetries through electromagnetism and quantum mechanics.

Findings

Theoretical predictions align with experimental data.

Molecular symmetries explain optical activity.

Supports Pasteur's original hypothesis.

Abstract

In 1848 Pasteur conjectured that the rotation of the polarization plane of the light in a dilute dielectric medium is generated by the molecular symmetries of the medium where the light propagates. Our objective is to show that Pasteur hypothesis was correct using basic knowledge of electromagnetism and quantum mechanics. In Sections 2-5 we present a brief review of the fundamental concepts of the electromagnetism necessary to study the optical activity. In Sections 6-8 using the quantum mechanical perturbation theory and taking into account the molecular symmetries we calculate the optical activity of the medium. It will be shown that the theoretical predictions that are in good agreement with the experimental results give support to the Pasteur hypothesis.