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1. Light source
2. Unpolarized light
3. Linear polarizer
4. Linearly polarized light
5. Sample tube containing chiral molecules under study
6. Optical rotation due to molecules
7. Rotatable linear analyzer
8. Detector
A polarimeter[1] is a scientific instrument used to measure optical rotation: the angle of rotation caused by passing linearly polarized light through an optically active substance.[2]
Some chemical substances are optically active, and linearly polarized (uni-directional) light will rotate either to the left (counter-clockwise) or right (clockwise) when passed through these substances. The amount by which the light is rotated is known as the angle of rotation. The direction (clockwise or counterclockwise) and magnitude of the rotation reveals information about the sample's chiral properties such as the relative concentration of enantiomers present in the sample.
- ^ "Polarimeter | WordNet Search". wordnetweb.princeton.edu. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
- ^ "Polarimeter". physics.kenyon.edu. Retrieved 2023-04-27.