Chirality in Liquid Crystals

by Kitzerow, Heinz-Siegfried; Bahr, Christian; Chandrasekhar, Sivaramakrishna

• ISBN13: 9780387986791
• ISBN10: 0387986790
• eBook ISBN(s): 9780387216423
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-01-01
• Publisher: Springer Verlag
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Summary

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.

Table of Contents

Foreword	vii
Sivaramakrishna Chandrasekhar
Preface	ix
Heinz-Siegfried Kitzerow
Christian Bahr
Contributors	xiii
Introduction	1	(27)
Heinz-Siegfried Kitzerow
Christian Bahr
Classroom Experiments with Chiral Liquid Crystals	28	(39)
Pawel Pieranski
From a Chiral Molecule to a Chiral Anisotropic Phase	67	(34)
Hans-Georg Kuball
Tatiana Hofer
Chemical Structures and Polymorphism	101	(14)
Volkmar Vill
Cholesteric Liquid Crystals: Defects and Topology	115	(44)
Oleg D. Lavrentovich
Maurice Kleman
Cholesteric Liquid Crystals: Optics, Electro-optics, and Photo-optics	159	(27)
Guram Chilaya
Blue Phases	186	(37)
Peter P. Crooker
Smectic Liquid Crystals: Ferroelectric Properties and Electroclinic Effect	223	(28)
Christian Bahr
Smectic Liquid Crystals: Antiferroelectric and Ferrielectric Phases	251	(45)
Hideo Takezoe
Yoichi Takanishi
Twist Grain Boundary Phases	296	(59)
Heinz-Siegfried Kitzerow
Columnar Liquid Crystals	355	(20)
Harald Bock
Some Aspects of Polymer Dispersed and Polymer Stabilized Chiral Liquid Crystals	375	(58)
Gregory P. Crawford
Daniel Svensek
Slobodan Zumer
Chirality in Liquid Crystal Elastomers	433	(14)
Peter Stein
Heino Finkelmann
Phase Chirality of Micellar Lyotropic Liquid Crystals	447	(34)
Karl Hiltrop
Traveling Phase Boundaries with the Broken Symmetries of Life	481	(14)
Patricia E. Cladis
Index	495