Left-handed molecules [was Re: SOC: The Monkey God]

From: Robert Bradbury (bradbury@genebee.msu.su)
Date: Sun Jan 23 2000 - 05:19:04 MST


On Sat, 22 Jan 2000 Spudboy100@aol.com wrote:

> You may be on target. I like a counter viewpoint which holds that the
> lefthanded chirality observed in nature by biologists and chemists, is due to
> earth being smacked, repeatedly, by transient paticles such as kaons or pions
> traveling at relativistic speeds. The particles have jiggled the molecular
> structure over the last 3.75 billion years so that lefthanded chirality is
> now a permanent feature. Astronomers have identified the primary culperit as
> Cygnus X , a neuton star. Thats why people believe in supernatural things
> because, Hey! if tiny, invisible, things were constanly slamming into your
> brain -wouldn't you?
>

My impression was that the favored reason for left-handed molecules
being dominant is the effects of polarized light in gas clouds.
What is described above sounds much different.

Does anyone know whether these theories are equivalent, different,
opposed or both occuring in different circumstances?

Some hard data pointers would be nice. I think the polarization
theory was in Scientific American or one of the Astronomy magazines
sometime in '99.

Robert



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