dextrorotatory

Dextrorotatory refers to a chemical compound's ability to rotate the plane of polarized light clockwise, or to the right. This property is known as optical activity and is a characteristic of chiral molecules, which are non-superimposable mirror images of each other, much like a pair of hands.123

Substances exhibiting optical activity have a specific rotation value. If this value is positive, the substance is dextrorotatory, often denoted by d or (+). Conversely, if the rotation is negative (counterclockwise), it is levorotatory, denoted by l or (-). This phenomenon was first observed in substances like quartz crystals and solutions of tartaric acid and sugar. The direction and magnitude of this rotation depend on factors such as temperature and the wavelength of light used.1