English

P-Violation Manifested at the Molecular Level - A Simple Means for an Absolute Definition of "Left" vs. "Right"

Chemical Physics 2007-05-23 v1 Atomic Physics

Abstract

P-violation of the nuclear weak force was hitherto believed to manifest itself only in asymmetric β\beta-emission due to neutron decay. Molecules with space asymmetry (like L and D amino acids) are affected by this parity violation, yielding a parity violation energy difference (PVED) between chiral isomers in the order of 101610^{-16} ev. In specific cases, where an autocatalytic process is combined with interaction with a selective spin isomer of H2_2O, this tiny PVED can be amplified to a macroscopic detectable level. We describe such a system through which one can transmit a universal definition of "left" and "right." The procedure is straightforward, yielding an absolute rather than a statistical definition. The argument is illustrated by paraphrasing Feynman's celebrated thought-experiment of communicating spatial directions to an alien.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.physics/0601010,
  title  = {P-Violation Manifested at the Molecular Level - A Simple Means for an Absolute Definition of "Left" vs. "Right"},
  author = {Avshalom C. Elizur and Meir Shinitzky},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:physics/0601010},
  year   = {2007}
}

Comments

3 pages, 1 figure