Polarized bremsstrahlung not the source of optical activity

Abstract

An evaluation is made of the previously proposed scheme (polarized β-particles → circularly polarized bremsstrahlung » optically active molecules) by which dissymmetry at the elementary particle level may be transmitted to the molecular level. The calculations suggest that much too small a fraction level may be transmitted to the molecular level. The calculations suggest that much too small a fraction of the total energy of the electron appears as light, capable of causing photochemical resolution, to explain results obtained in the laboratory on the preferential radiation-induced decomposition of one enantiomer of chiral amino acids.