Liquid Crystals Through Experiments

Everyday physics and chemistry is complex and not easy to explain at elementary levels. For teachers, it is difficult to follow new advances in research. Fields have become specialized and a lot of preliminary knowledge is necessary to understand new discoveries and to appreciate their importance.

This book will help bring the new, scientifically interesting and active research topic of liquid crystals into the classroom. Used in mobile phones, computer screens and other similar devices, liquid crystals provide a context for the research topic to be learnt. It will be of particular interest to lecturers who want a hands-on guide to experiments. It starts with a short description of liquid crystals followed by elementary ideas about the aims of experiments. Experiments are presented in three chapters. Chapter 3 gives a wide set of experiments that use liquid crystals as a material. Some experiments are very simple, others are more complicated, and several of them could be developed into laboratory exercises in advanced labs and into projects. Chapter 4 is focused on the liquid crystal display, its structure and its function, not forgetting colour printing. The last experimental chapter, chapter 5 presents several experiments that offer additional insights into phenomena needing comprehension to understand phenomena in liquid crystals. The added value of those experiments are either easily accessible and easily manipulated materials, such as tapes and cloth, or are experiments that provide easily observable evidences such as microwaves in an anisotropic wood. An example of a teaching module that was tested and evaluated is in chapter 6. Finally, a short overview of published papers related to liquid crystals in education is given in chapter 7.

Liquid Crystals Through Experiments will prove itself as an indispensable book for lecturers who want to bring the physics of ‘everyday’ into the classroom at the university or high-school level.