achiral
Lacks handed asymmetry
Achiral describes a molecule or object that is superimposable on its mirror image—it lacks chirality.
An achiral molecule has an internal plane of symmetry, meaning its left and right halves are identical.
Most simple molecules are achiral: Water is achiral, while your hands are chiral.
The term appears mainly in chemistry and biochemistry when discussing molecular structure and how compounds interact with biological systems.
Able to overlay exactly
- mirror imageReversed visual duplicate
- reflectionReturned light or thought
- identicalExactly the same
- plane of symmetrySurface dividing mirrored halves
bilateral · congruent · equivalent · indistinguishable · balanced · proportional · uniform · symmetric
Achiral molecule with stereocenters
- superimposableAble to overlay exactly
- stereochemistryStudy of molecular shape
- stereoisomerMolecule differing only spatially
- symmetryInvariance under transformation
conformer · isomer · plane of symmetry · tetrahedral · configuration
superimposable
Able to overlay exactly
- mirror imageReversed visual duplicate
- reflectionReturned light or thought
- identicalExactly the same
plane of symmetry · bilateral · congruent · equivalent · indistinguishable · balanced · proportional · uniform · symmetric · rotational symmetry
meso compound
Achiral molecule with stereocenters
- superimposableAble to overlay exactly
- stereochemistryStudy of molecular shape
- stereoisomerMolecule differing only spatially
symmetry · conformer · isomer · plane of symmetry · tetrahedral · configuration
achiralchiral
Not matching its reflection
handed · asymmetric · asymmetrical · helical · scalene
chiropractor, chirality, chiral, enantiomer, enantiomers, chiromancy