Liquid crystal

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Liquid Crystal

Liquid crystal (pronunciation: /ˈlɪk.wɪd ˈkrɪs.təl/) is a state of matter that has properties between those of conventional liquids and those of solid crystals.

Etymology

The term "liquid crystal" comes from the substance's ability to exhibit a phase of matter that has properties of both a liquid and a crystal. The term was first coined by the Austrian botanist Friedrich Reinitzer in the late 19th century.

Definition

A liquid crystal can flow like a liquid, but its molecules may be oriented in a crystal-like way. There are many different types of liquid crystal states, depending on the nature of the order and the dimensionality of the order parameter.

Types of Liquid Crystals

There are mainly three types of liquid crystals, which are:

  • Nematic Phase: The molecules are parallel but not layered. There is no positional order.
  • Smectic Phase': The molecules are layered. There is positional order.
  • Cholesteric Phase: The molecules are layered, but the direction of alignment rotates slightly from one layer to the next.

Applications

Liquid crystals find wide use in liquid crystal displays (LCD), which rely on the optical properties of certain liquid crystalline substances in the presence or absence of an electric field.

Related Terms

External links

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