Racemic
[rә'si:mik]
Definition
(a.) Pertaining to, or designating, an acid found in many kinds of grapes. It is also obtained from tartaric acid, with which it is isomeric, and from sugar, gum, etc., by oxidation. It is a sour white crystalline substance, consisting of a combination of dextrorotatory and levorotatory tartaric acids.
Checker: Thomas
Examples
- It was in that same year that Pasteur put on record his discovery of the nature of racemic acid, his first great service to science, from which all his o ther services were to proceed. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- He had made a capital di scovery of far-reaching importance, namely, that racemic acid is composite, consisting of dextro-tartaric and l?vo-tartaric acids . Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- He succeeded in keeping alive one of the c ommonest moulds on the surface of ashes and racemic acid, and saw the l?vo-tartaric acid appear. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- Racemic acid, however, which is identical with tartaric acid in i ts chemical constituents, is optically inactive, rotating the plane of polarized light n either to the right nor the left. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
Checker: Thomas