Liquid crystals are condensed-matter systems that exhibit phases with orientational order of constituent anisotropic molecules while retaining partial fluidity characteristic of liquids. Depending on molecular organization and symmetry, they form distinct mesophases such as nematic, smectic, and cholesteric, each defined by specific order parameters and broken symmetries. Their physical behavior is governed by elastic continuum theories (e.g., Frank–Oseen) and coupling between director fields, flow, and external fields (electric, magnetic). Liquid crystals display anisotropic optical, dielectric, and rheological properties, enabling controllable phase transitions and defect structures that are central to both fundamental studies of soft matter and engineered photonic or electro-optic systems.
An international team of scientists, including researchers from Loughborough University, has developed a method to dramatically speed up the discovery and design of advanced materials. The study, published in Physical Review ...
General Physics
Apr 13, 2026
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The direction in which the electromagnetic field of circularly polarized light rotates can be easily reversed by applying a voltage, RIKEN researchers have demonstrated. This could enable a new generation of optical devices ...
Condensed Matter
Apr 1, 2026
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34
In physics, some waves behave in a surprising way: instead of spreading out and fading, they hold their shape as they travel at constant speeds. These unusual waves, called solitons, have interested scientists since they ...
Soft Matter
Mar 30, 2026
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Can light behave like a whirlwind? It turns out it can—and such "optical tornadoes" have now been created in an extremely small structure by scientists from the Faculty of Physics at the University of Warsaw, the Military ...
Optics & Photonics
Mar 27, 2026
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133
Controlling light with light is a long-sought goal for computing and communication technologies. Achieving this capability would allow optical signals to be processed without converting them into electrical signals, potentially ...
Optics & Photonics
Mar 9, 2026
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46
Crystalline nanomaterials are valuable because their highly ordered structures give them useful properties for technologies such as data storage and optical devices. But forming nanoparticles from those orderly crystals is ...
Nanophysics
Mar 3, 2026
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Liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) are critical components of laptop, television, and smartphone screens. Given their ubiquity in the environment, these compounds are considered persistent pollutants, posing threats to marine ...
Environment
Feb 25, 2026
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25
Imagine a "smart fluid" whose internal structure can be rearranged just by changing temperature. In a new study published in Matter, researchers report a way to overcome a long-standing limitation in a class of "smart fluids" ...
Optics & Photonics
Feb 17, 2026
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33
When a cell divides, it performs a feat of microscopic choreography—duplicating its DNA and depositing it into two new cells. The spindle is the machinery behind that process: It latches onto chromosomes (where DNA is stored) ...
Cell & Microbiology
Feb 11, 2026
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70
Across the physical world, many intricate structures form via symmetry breaking. When a system with inherent symmetry transitions into an ordered state, it can form stable imperfections known as topological defects. Such ...
Nanomaterials
Jan 27, 2026
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