Liquid crystals are a form of ‘soft matter’, having molecules that can display long-range orientational order while lacking positional order.  Liquid crystals have gone from an obscure laboratory curiosity to a multi-billion-dollar industry in a remarkably short time, and are now the basis of every pixel seen on nearly every viewing screen.  This Immersion introduces the optical and electrical physics of liquid crystals, and also studies them as an experiment in the thermodynamics of a phase transition.

The apparatus includes the special optical cells that allow a thin (< 3 mm) layer of liquid-crystal material to be subjected to a chosen electric field, and held at a stable and controllable temperature.  It also includes the optical (LED) red-light source, the polarization optics, and the photodetector needed for studying the transmission of light through the liquid-crystal sample.  Most experiments can be performed using only a DMM for measurement of signals; an oscilloscope is an optional accessory.

Users will learn how to fill an optical cell with liquid-crystal sample material provided, and how to mount such cells into the temperature-controlled apparatus.  They will learn the curious use of (alternating) electric fields to control the orientation of the LC molecules, and the competition with orienting effects of the cell walls.  They will learn the use of polarization-diagnostic detection to measure the degree of order in the LC sample.  By studying this as a function of temperature, they will have quantitative access to the detection of the phase transition exhibited by the LC sample.

The equipment for Liquid Crystal Physics will be introduced in March, and available for Immersions 2026, and should be commercially available in autumn 2026 at an introductory price yet to be determined.

Host and Mentor:

David Lee

Please note that the Jonathan F. Reichert Foundation has established a grant program to help purchase apparatus used in Laboratory Immersions. Limitations and exclusions apply, but generally speaking the Foundation may support up to 50% of the cost of the required equipment.