Experimental and Theoretical Studies of Liquid Crystalline Materials: Where Do We Stand after 120 Years?

Dear Colleagues,

Since their discovery 120 years ago by the Viennese chemist Reinitzer and his colleague Lehmann the liquid-crystalline state, often referred to as the ``fourth state of matter'', has received a lot of attention because of its fascinating physical properties.  The unique properties of liquid-crystalline materials prompted numerous important technological developments. Perhaps the most traditional ones are in the area of display technology where one utilizes the fact that liquid crystals can form ordered structures if exposed to suitable external fields. Depending on whether these fields are switched off or on the liquid-crystalline material may be transparent to visible light or not. More recently the range of potential applications of liquid crystals has considerably broadened. It is nowadays possible to use liquid crystals as sensors in the recognition and detection of biomaterials. In tribology liquid crystals have been employed as lubricants to reduce friction coefficients, wear rates, and contact temperature of sliding surfaces. Other applications include photonic and organic electronic devices. Even in food industry liquid crystals are used to stabilize dispersions and. Particularly interesting issues in contemporary liquid-crystal research include biaxial nematics, the issue of chirality, or the structure and dynamics of liquid-crystal phases formed by molecules of unusual shapes and geometries.

Prof. Dr. Martin Schoen
Guest Editor

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