Diastereomers are Stereoisomerism is the arrangement of atoms in molecules whose connectivity remains the same but their arrangement in space is different in each isomer. ...stereoisomers that are not In chemistry two stereoisomers are said to be enantiomers if one can be superimposed on the mirror image of the other, and vice versa. ...enantiomers or mirror images of each other. Diastereomers can have different physical properties and different reactivity.

If a In science, a molecule is the smallest particle of a pure chemical substance that still retains its chemical composition and properties. ...molecule contains a single asymmetric General Name, Symbol, Number Carbon, C, 6 Chemical series Nonmetals Group, Period, Block 14 (IVA), 2, p Density, Hardness 2267 kg/m3 0. ...carbon Properties For alternative meanings see atom (disambiguation). ...atom, it is will have two mirror image forms. If a molecule contains two asymmetric carbons, there are 4 possible configurations, and they can not all be mirror images of each other. The possibilities continue to multiply as there are more asymmetric centers in a molecule.

Tartaric acid is white crystalline organic acid. ...Tartaric acid contains two asymmetric centers, but two of the configurations are equivalent and together are called Meso compound is a chemical compound whose molecules contain asymmetric centers but which is optically inactive due to overall symmetry. ...meso compounds meso_, this configuration is not When polarized light is passed through a substance containing chiral molecules (or nonchiral molecules arranged asymmetrically), the direction of polarization can be changed. ...optically active, while the remaining two configurations are d_ and l_ mirror images. The meso form is a diastereomer of the other forms.

The families of 5 and 6 carbon This article deals with sugar as food and as an important, widely traded commodity; the word also has other uses; see Sugar (disambiguation) A sugar is a form of carbohydrate; the most commonly used sugar is a white crystalline solid, sucrose; used to alter the flavor and properties (mouthfeel, perservation...sugars contain many diastereomers because of the large numbers of asymmetric centers in these molecules. See Carbohydrates (literally hydrates of carbon) are chemical compounds that act as the primary biological means of storing or consuming energy, other forms being fat and protein. ...carbohydrates.

See also

• In chemistry two stereoisomers are said to be enantiomers if one can be superimposed on the mirror image of the other, and vice versa. ...Enantiomer
• In chemistry (especially organic chemistry), a molecule is chiral (and said to have chirality) if its overall structure and overall three_dimensional configuration is always chiral in accordance with the geometric definition (it cant be mapped to its mirror images) regardless of how the molecule is conformed. ...Chirality