| chirality [kī`ral·ǝd·ē] CHEMISTRY The handedness of an asymmetric molecule. PARTICLE PHYSICS The characteristic of particles of spin 1/2 ℏ that are allowed to have only one spin state with respect to an axis of quantization parallel to the particle's momentum; if the particle's spin is always parallel to its momentum, it has positive chirality; antiparallel, negative chirality. PHYSICS The characteristic of an object that cannot be superimposed upon its mirror image. |