An analogy between molecules and clothing:
"[Louis Pasteur] was the first to show that [some] organic compounds exist in mirror-image forms at the molecular level; that is molecules have the property of handedness, or chirality. The term is based on the Geek word for hand, which is appropriate because hands are the most common [everyday*] examples of mirror-image forms. Not only molecules, but also ordinary objects can be described as chiral or achiral. For example, gloves are chiral, but socks are achiral, because a sock can be worn equally well on a right or left foot."
Royston M. Roberts (1989) Serendipity. Accidental discoveries in science
In this analogy, familiar gloves and socks act as the analogues to explain the target conceps of chiral molecules and achiral molecules.
* The statement, "hands are the most common examples of mirror-image forms", exhibits anthropocentrism, in the sense that chiral molecules are far, far more common than hands.
Read examples of science analogies
[Please be aware that a word may have different nuances, or even a different meaning, according to context.]« Back to Index
