Abstract:
This review gives information on the electric and optical properties of liquid crystals (LC), and discusses in detail various electro-optical effects in nematic, cholesteric, and smectic LC. Dielectric deformations of LC in electric fields, electrodynamic instabilities, the electromechanical effect, etc., are treated. Special attention is paid to explaining the physical reasons for the change in the optical properties of thin LC films when acted on by an electric potential. The practical applications of LC in electro-optical devices are briefly reviewed.
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