Levorotation

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Levorotation (also spelled laevorotation)^{[#endnote_word]} is the counterclockwise rotation of plane polarized light.

The rotation of interest in chemistry is induced by a chiral molecule. Note that the direction of rotation cannot be predicted from the R or S designation of the configuration at a stereocenter: in some cases the R isomer is dextrorotatory and the S isomer is levorotatory, while in other cases it is the other way around. Also, the direction of rotation can change with the wavelength of the light.

Notes

↑ The first word component comes from Latin word for “on the left side”.

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