Structure and Properties of Liquid Crystals - L. Blinov (Springer, 2011) WW.pdf

Structure and Properties of Liquid Crystals
.
Lev M. Blinov
Structure and Properties
of Liquid Crystals
Dr. Lev M. Blinov
Russian Academy of Sciences
Inst. Crystallography
Leninskii prospect 69
119333 Moscow
Russia
lev39blinov@
ISBN 978-90-481-8828-4 e-ISBN 978-90-481-8829-1
DOI -90-481-8829-1
Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg London New York
Library of Congress Control Number: 2010937563
# Springer ScienceþBusiness Media . 2011
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Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media ()
To my family: Galina, Anastasia and Timothy
Epigraph
Ego plus quam feci, facere non possum
Marcus Tillius Cicero
English, translation close to the original
More than I have done, I cannot do
or maybe it better sounds like this in standard English
I cannot do more than I have done
Foreword
Liquid crystals have found an important place in modern life. Just look around: we
see them in our clocks, computer displays, TV screens, telephones and calcula-
tors, car dashboards, photo-cameras, etc. Other applications include slide projec-
tion systems, spatial light modulators, temperature sensors and even liquid crystal
lasers. In all these technical innovations, which appeared over the life of only a
single generation, liquid crystals occupy a key position. This is because they
consume a barely perceptible amount of energy when they change their state
under external influences such as temperature, electric field, mechanical stress
or whatever. In addition, there are very important biologica