Induction of gyrotropy as a new method of study in the physics of condensed media

The essential advantages of spectroscopic investigations by chiroptical methods based on studying gyrotropy are pointed out. The phenomena of induction of gyrotropy in nongyrotropic media by chiral matrices or chiral admixtures are described and the physical mechanism of the phenomena is analyzed. A set of methods is presented that allows one to study optically inactive molecules and nongyrotropic substances. The potentialities of the methods and their advantages are indicated with a set of examples. The methods are indicated to be highly promising and are insufficiently used in solid-state physics.