Abstract
In this chapter we describe in some detail the three-dimensional liquids among the thermotropic liquid crystals. First the features of nematics are summarized, and some thermodynamic properties of the nematic-isotropic phase transition are discussed. Then we consider the various types of textures that may occur. A nematic phase can be considered as a chiral nematic phase with infinite pitch. This similarity is stressed in the second section, which further summarizes the remarkable optical properties of chiral nematics. Finally, we discuss their textures and the factors that influence the pitch.
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© 1988 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Vertogen, G., de Jeu, W.H. (1988). Nematic Liquid Crystals. In: Thermotropic Liquid Crystals, Fundamentals. Springer Series in Chemical Physics, vol 45. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-83133-1_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-83133-1_2
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-83135-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-83133-1
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive