Crystal asymmetry

Molecular asymmetry was discovered as a fundamental characteristic in certain molecules that can cause polarized light to twist in different directions. This discovery laid the groundwork for the field of stereochemistry several decades later.
 Louis Pasteur France 1846 Crystal asymmetry

Molecular asymmetry was discovered as a fundamental characteristic in certain molecules that can cause polarized light to twist in different directions. This discovery laid the groundwork for the field of stereochemistry several decades later.