Liquidcrystal
Liquid crystals are materials that exhibit properties between those of conventional liquids and solid crystals. In these substances, molecules retain mobility like a liquid but display some long-range order, such as a preferred orientation or layered structure. This combination produces anisotropic properties, notably directional optical and dielectric behavior.
The most common mesophases include nematic, smectic, and cholesteric (chiral nematic) phases. In the nematic phase,
Properties of liquid crystals arise from their anisotropy, including refractive index differences (birefringence) and dielectric anisotropy.
Historically, the phenomenon was first observed by Friedrich Reinitzer in 1888 during studies of cholesterol derivatives.