A unique compendium of knowledge on all aspects of the texture of liquid crystals, providing not just detailed information on texture formation and determination, but also an in-depth discussion of different characterization methods. Experts as well as graduates entering the field will find all the information they need in this handbook, while the magnitude of the color images make it valuable hands-on-reference.

The Handbook of Liquid Crystal Research deals with all the important recent advances in liquid crystalline materials. It contains in one volume the results of technical and theoretical work done in the last 15 years.

This handbook is a unique compendium of knowledge on all aspects of the physics of liquid crystals. In over 500 pages it provides detailed information on the physical properties of liquid crystals as well as the recent theories and results on phase transitions, defects and textures of different types of liquid crystals. An in-depth understanding of the physical fundamentals is a prerequisite for everyone working in the field of liquid crystal research. With this book the experts as well as graduate students entering the field get all the information they need.

The Handbook of Liquid Crystals is a unique compendium of knowledge on all aspects of liquid crystals. In over 2000 pages the Handbook provides detailed information on the basic principles of both low- and high-molecular weight materials, as well as the synthesis, characterization, modification, and applications (such as in computer displays or as structural materials) of all types of liquid crystals. The five editors of the Handbook are internationally renowned experts from both industry and academia and have drawn together over 70 leading figures in the field as authors. The four volumes of the Handbook are designed both to be used together or as stand-alone reference sources. Some users will require the whole set, others will be best served with one or two of the volumes. Volume 1 deals with the basic physical and chemical principles of liquid crystals, including structure-property relationships, nomenclature, phase behavior, characterization methods, and general synthesis and application strategies. As such this volume provides an excellent introduction to the field and a powerful learning and teaching tool for graduate students and above. Volumes 2A and 2B concentrate on low-molecular weight materials, for example those typically used in display technology. A high quality survey of the literature is provided along with full details of molecular design strategies, phase characterization and control, and applications development. These volumes are therefore by far the most detailed reference sources on these industrially very important materials, ideally suited for professionals in the field. Volume 3 concentrates on high-molecular weight, or polymeric, liquid crystals, some of which are found in structural applications and others occur as natural products of living systems. A high-quality literature survey is complemented by full detail of the synthesis, processing, analysis, and applications of all important materials classes. This volume is the most comprehensive reference source on these materials, and is therefore ideally suited for professionals in the field.

The aim of this book is to give a unified and critical account of the fundamental aspects of liquid crystals. Preference is given to discussing the assumptions made in developing theories and analyzing experimental data rather than to attempting to compile all the latest results. The book has four parts. Part I is quite descriptive in character and gives a general overview of the various liquid crystalline phases. Part II deals with the macroscopic continuum theory of liquid crystals and gives a systematic development of the theory from a tensorial point of view thus emphasizing the relevant symmetries. Part III concentrates on experiments that provide microscopic information on the orientational behaviour of the molecules. Finally Part IV discusses the theory of the various phases and their attendant phase transitions from both a Landau and a molecular-statistical point of view. Simplifying the various models as far as possible, it critically examines the merits of a molecular-statistical approach.

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.

Fluorinated Liquid Crystals: Design of Soft Nanostructures and Increased Complexity of Self-Assembly by Perfluorinated Segments, by Carsten Tschierske Liquid Crystalline Crown Ethers, by Martin Kaller and Sabine Laschat Star-Shaped Mesogens – Hekates: The Most Basic Star Structure with Three Branches, by Matthias Lehmann DNA-Based Soft Phases, by Tommaso Bellini, Roberto Cerbino and Giuliano Zanchetta Polar and Apolar Columnar Phases Made of Bent-Core Mesogens, by N. Vaupotič, D. Pociecha and E. Gorecka Spontaneous Achiral Symmetry Breaking in Liquid Crystalline Phases, by H. Takezoe Nanoparticles in Liquid Crystals and Liquid Crystalline Nanoparticles, by Oana Stamatoiu, Javad Mirzaei, Xiang Feng and Torsten Hegmann Stimuli-Responsive Photoluminescent Liquid Crystals, by Shogo Yamane, Kana Tanabe, Yoshimitsu Sagara and Takashi Kato

Current understanding of different phases as well as the phase transitions between them has only been achieved following recent theoretical advances on the effects of dimensionality in statistical physics. P S Pershan explains the connection between these two separate areas and gives some examples of problems where the understanding is still not complete. The most important example is the second order phase transition between the nematic and smectic-A phase. Others include the relation between the several hexatic phases that have been observed and the first order restacking transitions between phases that were all previously identified as smectic-B, but which should more properly be identified as crystalline-B. Some relatively recent experimental developments on the discotic phase, liquid crystal surfaces and lyotropic phases are also included. The book includes 41 major reprints of some of the recent seminal work on the structure of liquid crystals. They are introduced by a brief review of the symmetries and other properties of liquid crystalline phases. In addition, there is a discussion of the differences between true liquid crystalline phases and others that were described as liquid crystalline in the early literature, but which have since been shown to be true three-dimensional crystals. The progression from the isotropic fluid, through the nematic, smectic, and various crystalline phases can be understood in terms of a systematic decrease in symmetry, together with an accompanying variation in structure is explained. A guide to the selected reprints and a sort of ?Rosetta Stone? for these various phases is provided. The goal of this book is to explain the systematics of this progression to students and others that are new to this field, as well as to provide a useful handbook for people already working in the field.

This new edition of the classic text incorporates the many advances in knowledge about liquid crystals that have taken place since its initial publication in 1974. Entirely new chapters describe the types and properties of liquid crystals in terms of both recently discovered phases and current insight into the nature of local order and isotropic-to-nematic transition. There is an extensive discussion of the symmetrical, macroscopic, dynamic, and defective properties of smectics and columnar phases, with emphasis on order-of-magnitude considerations, all illustrated with numerous descriptions of experimental arrangements. The final chapter is devoted to phase transitions in smectics, including the celebrated analogy between smectic A and superconductors. This new version's topicality and breadth of coverage will ensure that it remains an indispensable guide for researchers and graduate students in mechanics and engineering, and in chemical, solid state, and statistical physics.