Here, the liquid crystalline phase is sandwiched between two glass plates that have electrodes attached similar to those depicted in the illustration below. This light can then form one of the seven segments on the display. When current is applied to the electrodes, the liquid crystalline phase aligns with the current and loses the cholesteric spiral pattern. Light passing through a charged electrode is not twisted and is blocked by polarizer 2. By coordinating the voltage on the seven positive and negative electrodes, the display is capable of rendering the numbers 0 through 9.
Polarization of light is very useful in many aspects of optical microscopy.
With no sample on the microscope stage, the light polarized by the polarizer is blocked by the analyzer and no light is visible. When samples that are birefringent are viewed on the stage between crossed polarizers, the microscopist can visualize aspects of the samples through light rotated by the sample and then able to pass through the analyzer. The details of polarized light microscopy are thoroughly discussed in our microscopy section of this primer. Authors Mortimer Abramowitz - Olympus America, Inc., Two Corporate Center Drive., Melville, New York, 11747. All Rights Reserved .