ENGLISH

Chirality in liquid crystals

By S. Chandrasekhar , Heinz Kitzerow , Christian Bahr

Book information

Publisher
Springer
Year
2001
ISBN
0387986790, 9780387986791, 9780387216423
Open Library ID
OL9399541M
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
7 MB (6995285 bytes)
Series
Partially ordered systems
Edition
1
Pages
516\516
Library
Kolxo3
Time added
2009-12-04 00:34:26
Химия и химическая промышленность;Физическая и кол

Description

Objects that differ from their mirror images, such as the left and right hands, play an important role in physics at all lengths scales, from elementary particles to macroscopic systems. The handedness, or chirality, of molecules in liquid crystals has a remarkable influence on the macroscopic physical properties of these systems, including the appearance of new phases. Indeed, the majority of optical applications of liquid crystals is due to chiral structures, namely the thermochromic effect of cholesteric liquid crystals, the optical activity in twisted nematic liquid crystal displays, and the ferroelectric and antiferroelectric switching of smectic liquid crystals. This book describes the main aspects of chirality in liquid crystals, and points out some of the open questions of current research. The chapters, each by an expert in the field, reviews the highlights of the important topics and representative questions in the field of chiral liquid crystals. Two of the chapters provide an overview (including suggestions for classroom experiments) so that the book will be of interest to teachers and researchers just entering the field in addition to those already working in liquid-crystal research.

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