300 



line of demarcation traced by vitalists, can also be considered to 

 have disappeared, at least in principle. For although, as already 

 stated, the one-sidedness of natural synthetical processes is no 

 longer to be regarded as inconceivable, and although even these 

 facts are now brought completely within the scope of our 

 laboratory-experiments, the great fundamental problem of per- 

 forming a total asymmetric synthesis directly, remains yet to be 

 solved. 



It was Meyer 1 ) who in 1 903 again laid stress on this side 

 of the question, and who pointed quite rightly to the insufficiency 

 of the experiments made up till now for this purpose. His remarks 

 as to the special symmetry of the magnetic field in B o y d ' s 

 experiments are absolutely justified. With a magnetic field alone, 

 any result of this kind can never be expected; for the homo- 

 geneous magnetic field has the symmetry C^ (Chapter V), and 

 thus has a plane of symmetry perpendicular to its lines of force. 

 If however, as proposed by Meyer, a polarised lightbeam, 

 having the symmetry C]T travel through the magnetic field in 

 a direction parallel to its lines of force, the superposition of 

 these two phenomena is equivalent to the production of a physical 

 cause compatible with the symmetry of the group C n where n 

 is < 2. Indeed, the magnetic rotation of the plane of polarisation 

 of such a ray as is really observed in this case, is a phenomenon 

 having the symmetry C^. This symmetry is not qualified by the 

 existence of any symmetry-element of the second order, and in 

 this case, when the phenomenon considered may be a cause of 

 chemical action, the result might eventually be such as desired. 

 The same is true, - - and in the authors opinion with perhaps 

 a greater chance of . success, - - if a magnetic field (C^ ) be super- 

 posed on an electric field (C,), whether it be an electrostatic 

 field or an electric current. 



The question occupying us here must therefore be treated 

 experimentally, either by searching for an intrinsically photo- 

 chemical reaction, or for an electrolytical, or more in general: for 

 an electro-chemical process in which a new asymmetric carbon-atom 

 is produced in the molecule, and which reaction, in the way described 

 above, can be dissymmetrically arranged, i.e. under circumstances, 



1) J. Meyer, Jahresber. der Schles. Ges. f. vaterl. Kultur, lie Abt., Dez. 

 (1903), p. 34; Chem. Zeitg. (1904). p. 41. 



