Liquid crystals
Liquid crystals
IOP Publishing
2018
EISBN 9780750313629
1. Introduction.
2. What is a liquid crystal?.
2.1. Protons, electrons and atoms.
2.2. Molecules.
2.3. Phases of matter.
2.4. Liquid crystal
3. Light.
3.1. What is light?.
3.2. Polarised light.
3.3. Circular polarisation.
3.4. How is light affected by matter?.
3.5. Light and anisotropic materials.
3.6. Polarising optical microscopy
4. Nematic liquid crystals.
4.1. The nematic liquid crystal molecule.
4.2. Director orientation gradients.
4.3. Liquid crystal defects.
4.4. Isotropic-to-nematic phase transitions.
4.5. Adding dispersants.
4.6. Electric fields and liquid crystal displays
5. Long-pitch cholesterics.
5.1. Symmetry.
5.2. Repeating helical structures.
5.3. Defects and distortion.
5.4. Cholesteric droplets.
5.5. Out of the isotropic phase.
5.6. Helix unwinding
6. Short-pitch cholesterics.
6.1. Iridescent beetles and mood rings.
6.2. Lying helix.
6.3. Standing helix.
6.4. Phase transitions
7. Blue phases, smectics and lyotropics.
7.1. Blue phase.
7.2. Smectic liquid crystals.
7.3. Twist grain boundary phases.
7.4. Lyotropics
8. Discotic and columnar liquid crystals.
8.1. Discotic nematic phase.
8.2. Columnar phase.
8.3. Crystal growth.
9. Conclusion.
Despite many of us staring at liquid crystals--in the form of liquid-crystal displays--for large portions of our waking life, for many their science and beauty is an untold story full of surprise and wonder. This book takes you on a photographic journey through the science of liquid crystals. By the end you'll be familiar with what they are, how they form and their role in producing the complexity of life on Earth. Presented in non-technical language, without any mathematics, this accessible text looks at spider webs, silk, display technology, lasers, dyes, detergents, DNA, cell membranes, drug delivery mechanisms, anaesthesia and optical computing. Presented in non-technical language and without any mathematics, this book is accessible to all, even if you have no prior knowledge of physics or chemistry.
2. What is a liquid crystal?.
2.1. Protons, electrons and atoms.
2.2. Molecules.
2.3. Phases of matter.
2.4. Liquid crystal
3. Light.
3.1. What is light?.
3.2. Polarised light.
3.3. Circular polarisation.
3.4. How is light affected by matter?.
3.5. Light and anisotropic materials.
3.6. Polarising optical microscopy
4. Nematic liquid crystals.
4.1. The nematic liquid crystal molecule.
4.2. Director orientation gradients.
4.3. Liquid crystal defects.
4.4. Isotropic-to-nematic phase transitions.
4.5. Adding dispersants.
4.6. Electric fields and liquid crystal displays
5. Long-pitch cholesterics.
5.1. Symmetry.
5.2. Repeating helical structures.
5.3. Defects and distortion.
5.4. Cholesteric droplets.
5.5. Out of the isotropic phase.
5.6. Helix unwinding
6. Short-pitch cholesterics.
6.1. Iridescent beetles and mood rings.
6.2. Lying helix.
6.3. Standing helix.
6.4. Phase transitions
7. Blue phases, smectics and lyotropics.
7.1. Blue phase.
7.2. Smectic liquid crystals.
7.3. Twist grain boundary phases.
7.4. Lyotropics
8. Discotic and columnar liquid crystals.
8.1. Discotic nematic phase.
8.2. Columnar phase.
8.3. Crystal growth.
9. Conclusion.
Despite many of us staring at liquid crystals--in the form of liquid-crystal displays--for large portions of our waking life, for many their science and beauty is an untold story full of surprise and wonder. This book takes you on a photographic journey through the science of liquid crystals. By the end you'll be familiar with what they are, how they form and their role in producing the complexity of life on Earth. Presented in non-technical language, without any mathematics, this accessible text looks at spider webs, silk, display technology, lasers, dyes, detergents, DNA, cell membranes, drug delivery mechanisms, anaesthesia and optical computing. Presented in non-technical language and without any mathematics, this book is accessible to all, even if you have no prior knowledge of physics or chemistry.
