Lecture, Barnard's Inn Hall, Tuesday, 16 Sep 2025 - 18:00

The Shape of Hands: Symmetry, Chirality and Handedness

Pair of hands multiplied in hall of mirrors

The reflection of my right hand in a mirror is a left hand that looks similar yet is very different from the right. Many natural structures such as proteins, climbing vines, and seashells exhibit the same property known as chirality. Some of these objects are clearly left-handed, some are right-handed, some are both. The ultimate origin of chirality is one of Nature's great mysteries. In this talk, I will discuss the general problem of determining the chirality of an object and how it impacts all branches of sciences.

Professor Alain Goriely

Professor Alain Goriely FRS

Gresham Professor of Geometry

Alain Goriely is a mathematician with broad interests in mathematical methods, mechanics, sciences, and engineering. He is well known for his contributions to dynamical systems...

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