Feb

21

Enantiomers, from Jeff Watson

February 21, 2009 |

Enantiomers are molecules that are composed of the same atoms but are mirror images of one another. Since they are mirror images, they are not super-imposable upon one another (chiral…also found in spiral sea shells) and will react differently with other entantiomers. In other words, they are the same chemical in every which way save the mirror image, but are a totally different molecule. Biochemical studies have shown that enantiomers will affect living organisms in different ways. One way of detection is that enantiomers will rotate polarized light in opposite directions to the exact same angle. Perhaps there are some hidden enantiomers in the market where the same data will make the market move opposite of what you’d think, because of the complete difference that cannot be detected by normal means and testing.


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  1. douglas roberts dimick on February 21, 2009 7:47 am

    In your original comment, Jeff, you said of the article that you were reminded of enantiomers. Your observation reminds me of market strategy patterning based on triangulated modeling of market situation indicators and function integration.

    Given your original query, do you see an application?

    “Chirality is important in forensic science, as it can indicate whether a knot was tied by a left- or right-handed person.”

    Hmm, right-left, long-short: a chiral replica of long and short patterning could signal divergence?

    Note the molecular structure of the defined enantiopure compound; it resembles triangular modeling of price action. In my coding of state-input-state (or state transitioning), I have indicator classes that mirror HC3>C-Br and Br>C-CH3 symmetries.

    Fascinating inquiry of yours… Hope you can enlighten. Thanks… dr

  2. Adam Sterling on February 21, 2009 3:53 pm

    The first place I ever heard of left-handed and right-handed molecules was from a one-handed, flute-playing high school science teacher whose classroom looked like Merlin's lair.

    He told his class that the first person to identify left- and right-handed molecules using polarization was Louis Pasteur. I have no proof that this is either true or false. On the other hand…

    I never forgot this because of how exotic and unrestrained in his brilliance this teacher was. He completely changed my idea of "knowledge," and was surely the finest educator I have ever been blessed to know.

    Many years later, the woman I married (and am still married to) was using these very traits of "handedness" in RNA chemistry to investigate the operative genes in estrogen independent breast cancer. She's now deploying those investigative skills in high yield debt markets.

    I'm not smart enough to discourse on whether or not molecular handedness is a good analogy for the behavior of markets.

    A. Sterling

    [Ed.: according to the book Polarised Light in Science and Nature, by David Pye, Pasteur did indeed make this discovery in 1848].

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