Inversioonikeskus

Inversioonikeskus, often translated as "inversion center" or "center of inversion," is a concept primarily used in chemistry and physics to describe a point of symmetry within a molecule or crystal structure. If a molecule or crystal possesses an inversion center, then for every atom or point in the structure located at coordinates (x, y, z) relative to that center, there must be an identical atom or point at (-x, -y, -z). Essentially, this means that if you were to draw a line from any atom through the inversion center, you would find an identical atom at the same distance on the opposite side.

The presence or absence of an inversion center is a crucial property with significant implications. In crystallography, for instance, the presence of an inversion center can simplify the determination of the crystal structure and affects the possible space groups. In molecular symmetry, molecules with an inversion center are centrosymmetric. This property can influence their physical characteristics, such as their optical activity. Molecules lacking an inversion center are chiral and can exist as enantiomers, which are non-superimposable mirror images of each other. In spectroscopy, the selection rules for certain transitions can depend on the presence or absence of an inversion center.