Enantiomers are molecules that are mirror-images of each other, but cannot overlap, just like our hands. Enantiomers can have different physical and chemical properties, some of them even smell differently.
For years it was believed that lemons and oranges were part of this phenomenon, with one enantiomer responsible for the lemon smell, and one responsible for the orange smell. In 2021 scientists proved it to be a chemical myth, since only one enantiomer of limonene is responsible for both lemon and orange smells.
Nevertheless there are molecules which give very different smells, like the Carvone enantiomers, which give caraway and spear mint smells.
Infographic realized during the IllustraInfografia class, proposed by IllustraCiencia Academy.
Technique: vectorial and digital illustration.
