Re: A question about mirrors

["Glenn A. Carlson" <gcarlson@MAIL.WIN.ORG>]

> From: Abhishek Roy <fingerslip@YAHOO.COM>
>
> Actually my primary
> query was regarding a definition of 'handedness' independent of both
> specific examples and mirrors.

It is impossible to define "right-handedness" and "left-handedness"
without reference to a specific example.

And, given the constraints of your query, it also appears impossible
to define "handedness" since you seem to exclude any definition
referencing examples from geometry, chemistry, astronomy, particle
physics, etc.

In particular, the "triplet of directions" definition seems too
specific an example even though it only assumes knowledge of what
"perpendicular" means (and a three-dimensional Euclidean space) and
does not assume anything about a mirror.  You can't get any simpler
(i.e., general) than that.

If even this triplet of directions is excluded as "too specific," then
the answer to your query is "No, there is no way to define or explain
handedness independent of even one specific example or reference to
mirrors."

Glenn A. Carlson, P.E.
St. Charles County Community College
St. Peters, MO
gcarlson@mail.win.org