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Using Crystal Birefringence to Study Molecular Recognition
Author(s) -
McBride J. Michael,
Bertman Steven B.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition in english
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 0570-0833
DOI - 10.1002/anie.198903301
Subject(s) - birefringence , crystal (programming language) , bromine , polarization (electrochemistry) , materials science , polarized light microscopy , crystallography , optics , chemistry , physics , computer science , metallurgy , programming language
That a growing crystal can discriminate between almost equally sized bromine atoms and CH 3 groups can easily be demonstrated by light microscopy. Local birefringence of slightly impure crystals reflects their mechanism of growth. Merely a pair of polarization filters and a sensitive violet filter are required for the detection of the color effects (blue/yellow). Upon rotation through 90°, e.g., a crystal growing from the center shows the color change indicated on the right.