Beyond Specific Rotations Bart Kahr, Department of Chemistry, New York University

1. Beyond Specific Rotations Bart Kahr, Department of Chemistry, New York University The chiroptics of complex anisotropic samples such as liquid crystals and polycrystalline aggregates arises not only from their molecular optical rotation, but also from the interactions of the their microstructure. Investigations of molecular and structural optical rotation in the solid state must take into account all of the possible interactions of polarized light and the sample. While most polarimetric investigation limit the range of optical phenomena under investigation, we have found that the comprehensive framework offered by the Mueller matrix approach is suited to the investigation of not only the molecular origins of optical rotation but the microscale structural origin that has so commonly complicated polarimetric investigations. π 0.1 Linear birefringence Circular birefringence 0 -0.1