An Experiment
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Posted by jsodemann on March 21, 19101 at 15:58:37:
I have an idea for an experiment that could indirectly probe for the existence of higher dimensional space down to 10 or 15 angstroms, possibly smaller.
The experiment involves the use of chiral molecules. Chiral molecules come in two forms (isomers) called enantiomers which have identical composition but are arranged in such a way as to be non-superimposeable mirror images of each other. If our right and left hands were molecules they would be enantiomers. Indeed the enantiomers of any given molecule are distinguished from one another by calling them the R (for rectus) and S (for sinestro or left handed) isomers. An enantio-pure compound is one that has been purified to be all R or all S isomer. Theoretically, in higher dimensional space, a right hand can "flip" becoming a left hand when reentering four-dimensional space/time. In the same way if molecules of an enantio-pure compound entered higher dimensional space they could flip back and forth between R and S eventually leaving a 50/50 mixture of isomers. This 50/50 mix is called a racemic mixture. Enantio-pure compounds are readily available and appear to be quite stable. The question then becomes: Why hasn't this been seen before? This could be due to many factors. These compounds tend to be large molecules that exist as solids and liquids. In this state they may be too large to fit into the curled up dimensions as the molecules in solids are stuck together firmly and in liquids tend to cluster. Another possibility is that no one has ever looked for this. If a small chiral molecule could not be separated it may have been attributed to other factors. Indeed the racemization of enantio-pure amino acids in biological systems has been used as a dating technique in archeology. If an enatio-pure compound racemized over an extended period it could have been attributed to ligand shifts occurring by conventional kinetic routes. Of course, the most likely possibility is that all molecules are just way too large, but I think this experiment might still be worth doing.
For this experiment I would propose a small chiral molecule that could be kept in a gaseous state down to low temperature. This compound would be separated into its pure R and S forms in a liquid state. It would then be converted to a gas at low temperature and pressure. The low temperature and gaseous state would serve several purposes. As a gas, the molecules would hopefully have few interactions and become isolated as single molecules thus more easily entering a small extra dimension. At low temperature the bond lengths between atoms would be minimized, making the molecules as small as possible. At low temperature the vibrations of the molecules would be minimized allowing them to more easily fit into small curled up dimensions.
The low pressure would maintain the compound in a gaseous state at low temperature. After passing through the gaseous state in this way, the compound would be examined for the appearance of the opposite handed isomer. The appearance of the opposite isomer would support the existence of higher dimensions. Enantiomers are also called optical isomers because enatio-pure forms rotate plane polarized light to the left or right depending on which isomer is present. For this experiment a small chiral molecule would be made enatio-pure either by separation or synthesis techniques. The material thus made would have its optical rotation measured using a polarimeter. The material would then be subjected to low temperature and pressure creating a gaseous state. The pressure would then be increased in order to condense the material back to a liquid. The optical rotation would then be remeasured. Any reduction in the optical rotation would indicate a degree of racemization. A complete loss of rotation would indicate total racemization, where there would now be a 50/50 mix of enantiomers. Any loss of optical rotation would support the existence of higher dimensional space.
I have an ideal molecule in mind but I am not sure if it can be done technically. The molecule would be fluoromethane with one of the hydrogens replaced with deuterium and another with tritium. This molecule would be ideal because it is very small (around 10 Angstroms) and can be made gaseous down to low temperature. At one atmosphere of pressure it boils at around –78C. By reducing the pressure, this temperature could be driven down further. Fluoromethane will liquefy by a slight increase in pressure, with the liquid state being required for separation and analysis. The one draw back is the radioactive nature of tritium. It has a half-life of around 12.5 years. Some loss of optical rotation would be caused by the radioactive decay of some of the tritium, but this contribution would be slight and could be calculated.
This is the experiment in a nutshell. It could be modified in many ways using different molecules, temperatures, pressures and/or analysis techniques. I am wondering what thoughts or comments everyone might have.
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