Introduction to Liquid Crystals

Introduction to Liquid Crystals: Chemistry and Physics, Second Edition relies on only introductory level chemistry and physics as the foundation for understanding liquid crystal science. Liquid crystals combine the material properties of solids with the flow properties of fluids. As such they have provided the foundation for a revolution in low- power, flat-panel display technology LCDs. In this book, the essential elements of liquid crystal science are introduced and explained from the perspectives of the chemist, physicist and engineer.

Peter J. Collings is Morris L. Clothier Emeritus Professor of Physics at Swarthmore College and Adjunct Professor of Physics at the University of Pennsylvania, USA. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and past Vice-President of the International Liquid Crystal Society. He is the author of Liquid Crystals: Nature's Delicate Phase of Matter (Princeton University Press, 1990, 2002) and co-author of the first edition of Introduction to Liquid Crystals: Chemistry and Physics (Taylor & Francis, 1997). John W. Goodby is Emeritus Professor of Materials Chemistry at the University of York, UK. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society and past President of the International Liquid Crystal Society. He is the co-author of Smectic Liquid Crystals: Textures and Structures (Leonard Hill, 1984), Ferroelectric Liquid Crystals: Principles, Properties and Applications (Gordon & Breach 1991), and Senior Editor of the Handbook of Liquid Crystals (Wiley-VCH, 2014).

Introduction to a special phase of matter Nature's anisotropic fluids Calamitic Liquid Crystals - Nematic And Smectic Mesophases Discotic liquid crystals - nematic and smectic mesophases Discotic liquid crystals - columnar and nematic mesophases Polymeric liquid crystals - macromesogens Chiral liquid crystals - art and science Lyotropic liquid crystals - anisotropic solutions Synthesis of liquid crystals - strategies and methods Identification of liquid crystals Identification of liquid crystal phases - mesophase characterization Liquid crystals in electric and magnetic fields - a delicate response Light and liquid crystals - a panoply of colour Theoretical insights Liquid crystal technology