Chirality in Liquid Crystals (Partially Ordered Systems)
Contributors: Sivaramakrishna Chandrasekhar (Foreword); Heinz-Siegfried Kitzerow (Editor); Christian Bahr (Editor)
Publisher: Springer
Published: January 2001
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 501
ISBN-13: 9780387986791
Subjects: Materials science; States of matter; Liquid Crystallography; Molecular Chemistry; Science; Science/Mathematics; Chemistry - Physical & Theoretical; Material Science; Physics; Crystallography; Chirality; Liquid crystals
First sentence: Structures without mirror symmetry are extensively found in nature.
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, review the highlights of the important topics and representative questions in the field of chiral liquid crystals.