Liquid crystals for fast switching devices

Liquid crystals are not solid, but some of their physical properties are directional—like in a crystal. This is because their molecules can arrange themselves into certain patterns. The best-known applications include flat ...

X-rays indicate that water can behave like a liquid crystal

Scientists at Stockholm University have discovered that water can exhibit a similar behavior to that of a liquid crystal when illuminated with laser light. This effect originates by the alignment of water molecules, which ...

Dowsing for electric fields in liquid crystals

You may not know it, but you probably spend several hours a day looking at nematic liquid crystals; they are used in virtually every smartphone, computer and TV screen. They are liquids composed of elongated molecules, which ...

New method inverts the self-assembly of liquid crystals

In liquid crystals, molecules automatically arrange themselves in an ordered fashion. Researchers from the University of Luxembourg have discovered a method that allows an anti-ordered state, which will enable novel material ...

Sac with spiral surface patterns facilitate substance delivery

Imagine a micron-sized ball of fluid enclosed in a thin film, similar to the film in soap bubbles, but made up of molecules resembling liquid crystal. These molecules can lower their overall energy by aligning their directions ...

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