College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
1A20.28 - Statistics and Probability - Chirality
Set the cards up on the board as shown. It is easiest to start with 4 cards first and then fill in the quadrants with additional cards. After the demo is set, you can knock on the table or the board and either get left or right handed chirality when the cards fall.
- Martin Garder, "Physics Trick of the Month: Broken Symmetry", TPT, Vol. 38, #9, Dec. 2000, p. 564.
- Johanna L. Miller, "Magnets Separate Mirror-Image Molecules", Physics Today, Vol. 71, #7, July 2018, p. 14.
- Brett A. McGuire and P. Brandon Carroll, "Mirror Asymmetry in Life and in Space", Physics Today, Vol. 69, #11, Nov. 2016, p. 86.
- Johanna Miller, "Macroscopic Chiral Crystals Can Segregate Themselves", Physics Today, Vol. 66, #10, Oct. 2013, p. 14.
- Martin Gardner, "72, Broken Symmetry", Smart Science Tricks, p. 108 - 109.
Disclaimer: These demonstrations are provided only for illustrative use by persons affiliated with The University of Iowa and only under the direction of a trained instructor or physicist. The University of Iowa is not responsible for demonstrations performed by those using their own equipment or who choose to use this reference material for their own purpose. The demonstrations included here are within the public domain and can be found in materials contained in libraries, bookstores, and through electronic sources. Performing all or any portion of any of these demonstrations, with or without revisions not depicted here entails inherent risks. These risks include, without limitation, bodily injury (and possibly death), including risks to health that may be temporary or permanent and that may exacerbate a pre-existing medical condition; and property loss or damage. Anyone performing any part of these demonstrations, even with revisions, knowingly and voluntarily assumes all risks associated with them.