ENHANCED OPTICAL-ROTATION AND DIMINISHED DEPOLARIZATION IN DIFFUSIVE SCATTERING FROM A CHIRAL LIQUID

Optical rotation and degree of polarization of linearly polarized ligh t were observed by forward, lateral, and back scattering from solution s of D-glucose containing a dispersion of micron-size polystyrene sphe res, Rotations increased linearly with glucose concentration at a rate determined by the microsphere concentration and were large even at op tical thicknesses sufficiently great to extinguish transmission of the incident beam. Depolarization of light with increasing microsphere co ncentration occurred at a much slower rate in chiral glucose solution than in pure water. These experiments suggest new possibilities for st udying turbid chiral media for which light transmission and specular r eflection techniques are inappropriate.