Structure and Properties of Liquid Crystals

This book by Lev M. Blinov is ideal to guide researchers from their very first encounter with liquid crystals to the level where they can perform independent experiments on liquid crystals with a thorough understanding of their behaviour also in relation to the theoretical framework. Liquid crystals can be found everywhere around us. They are used in virtually every display device, whether it is for domestic appliances of for specialized technological instruments. Their finely tunable optical properties make them suitable also for thermo-sensing and laser technologies. There are many monographs written by prominent scholars on the subject of liquid crystals. The majority of them presents the subject in great depth, sometimes focusing on a particular research aspect, and in general they require a significant level of prior knowledge. In contrast, this books aims at an audience of advanced undergraduate and graduate students in physics, chemistry and materials science. The book consists of three parts: the first part, on structure, starts from the fundamental principles underlying the structure of liquid crystals, their rich phase behaviour and the methods used to study them; the second part, on physical properties, emphasizes the influence of anisotropy on all aspects of liquid crystals behaviour; the third, focuses on electro-optics, the most important properties from the applications standpoint. This part covers only the main effects and illustrates the underlying principles in greater detail. Professor Lev M. Blinov has had a long carrier as an experimentalist. He made major contributions in the field of ferroelectric mesophases. In 1985 he received the USSR state prize for investigations of electro-optical effects in liquid crystals for spatial light modulators. In 1999 he was awarded the Frederiks medal of the Soviet Liquid Crystal Society and in 2000 he was honoured with the G. Gray silver medal of the British Liquid Crystal Society. He has held many visiting academic positions in universities and laboratories across Europe and in Japan.

Review :
From the reviews: “Lev Blinov … intended to write a textbook on liquid crystals for scientists and students who are not specialised in the field. … The result is a profound and comprehensive introduction into liquid crystal research and into the involved concepts, models and experimental characterisation techniques. … this book for beginners in the field, for those who want to apply ideas of liquid crystal science to their work in other disciplines and for those who are simply interested in this exciting branch of soft matter physics.” (R. Stannarius, Liquid Crystals Today, Vol. 21 (4), 2012) “Structure and Properties of Liquid Crystals discusses the theoretical concepts necessary to understand the liquid-crystal phase from the perspective of an experimentalist. All the necessary theory is there for a wide range of topics in the physics of liquid crystals. … Line drawings are used throughout the text to help with the explanations, as are simple analogies and references to familiar concepts. The book is certainly suitable for advanced undergraduates and graduate students … . truly useful addition to the pedagogical literature on liquid crystals.” (Peter Collings, Physics Today, August, 2011)