Stephen F. Mason investigated optical activity and molecular dissymmetry in coordination chemistry. His account distinguishes different refractive indices for opposite circular polarizations from unequal absorption of those polarizations.
The first produces circular birefringence and the second circular dichroism. They probe related aspects of a chiral material through different experimental observables.[ref]
Optical Activity and Molecular Dissymmetry in Coordination Chemistry by Stephen F. Mason. Printed pages 335–336, Introduction
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