Designing a Helical Polymer that Reverses its Handedness at a Selected, Continuously Variable, Temperature

In a struggle between unmatched enantiomers to control the helical sense of a polymer, temperature determines the ratio of the chiral competitors at which the right- and left-handed helical senses are equally populated. Deviation above or below this temperature is detected by the optical activity, which then increases with the opposite sign. This phenomenon, potentially applicable to other helical arrays, is analyzed by a statistical physical model, which allows quantitative understanding of the controlling parameters.