science

The Left Hand of the Electron

The Left Hand of the Electron is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand The Left Hand of the Electron rather than just read about it. In short: The Left Hand of the Electron is a collection of seventeen nonfiction science essays by American writer and scientist Isaac Asimov, first published by Doubleday & Company in 1972. It was the ninth of a series of books collecting essays from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

Key takeaways

The Left Hand of the Electron belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect The Left Hand of the Electron to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of The Left Hand of the Electron from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Left Hand of the Electron is a collection of seventeen nonfiction science essays by American writer and scientist Isaac Asimov, first published by Doubleday & Company in 1972. It was the ninth of a series of books collecting essays from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. The title comes from the topic of the first section which deals with chirality of electroweak interactions and chirality of organic compounds and the possible connection between the two. Other essays in this book concern the effect of electron-spin direction on molecular structure e.g. the "Inverse Sugar" (similar to Inverted sugar syrup) in honey with philosophical reflections on the minority of left handedness in general.

Chapters A — The Problem of Left and Right 1 — Odds and Evens 2 — The Left Hand of the Electron 3 — Seeing Double 4 — The 3-D Molecule 5 — The Asymmetry of Life B — The Problem of Oceans 6 — The Thalassogens 7 — Hot Water 8 — Cold Water C — The Problem of Numbers and Lines 9 — Prime Quality 10 — Euclid's Fifth 11 — The Plane Truth D — The Problem of the Platypus 12 — Holes in the Head E — The Problem of History 13 — The Eureka Phenomenon 14 — Pompey and Circumstance 15 — Bill and I F — The Problem of Population 16 — Stop! 17 — ...But How?

References

External links Asimovonline.com Asimov, Isaac (1972). The Left Hand of the Electron (PDF). New York: Doubleday. ISBN 0-440-94717-0. Retrieved 2013-09-24.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with The Left Hand of the Electron

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what The Left Hand of the Electron claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to The Left Hand of the Electron before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about The Left Hand of the Electron ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of The Left Hand of the Electron

In research: The Left Hand of the Electron appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses The Left Hand of the Electron in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: The Left Hand of the Electron is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1972 books, Doubleday (publisher) books, Essay collections by Isaac Asimov, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for The Left Hand of the Electron outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study The Left Hand of the Electron in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what The Left Hand of the Electron means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain The Left Hand of the Electron out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is The Left Hand of the Electron in simple terms?

Why does The Left Hand of the Electron matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study The Left Hand of the Electron?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on The Left Hand of the Electron.