Optical activity of a molecule refers to its ability to rotate plane polarized light. Optically inactive molecules do not have chiral centers; thus when the light is passed through the optically inactive medium, rotation is only detected upon application of a magnetic field. The induced magnetic field in this experiment is controlled by a solenoid in order to study the optical effect through the polarized plane of a liquid medium. An apparatus was constructed of a solenoid, polaroid filter, and photodiode in order to detect small changes in the angle of rotation. The apparatus is used to study the effect of polarization by determining the Verdet Constant; defined as the angle of rotation per magnetic field strength. This study used water as the medium for calibration and plans to analyze various liquid mediums, starting with toluene. Toluene was chosen because it exhibited strange behavior when high magnetic fields were applied.

Investigation into the optical effects on the polarization of liquid mediums

245th National Meeting (2013)

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