Chemical Education Today
Book & Media Reviews Handbook of Liquid Crystal Research Peter J. Collings and Jay S. Patel, Eds. Oxford University Press: New York, 1997. 600 pp. ISBN 0-19-508442-X. $195.
Are you interested in liquid crystals? Do you want to know more about their chemistry and physics? Have you ever wondered how the liquid crystalline display (LCD) on your digital watch or calculator works? How does that simple black and white display relate to the more complex twisted nematic active matrix liquid crystal displays (TN-AMLCD) that are found in laptop computers and other portable displays? What is the difference between twisted nematics and supertwisted nematics? What is a polymer-stabilized liquid crystal and what kinds of displays can be made from them? How do smallmolecule liquid crystals relate to polymeric liquid crystals? How do they get all those colors from the display on a laptop computer? What kind of electronics are needed to accomplish that feat? Normally, to answer such a broad range of questions concerning one technology, a teacher or researcher would need to search through a dozen publications to garner the requisite information. After all, they range from fundamental physical chemistry to something close to electrical engineering. However, with the publication of The Handbook of Liquid Crystal Research, that is no longer the case for liquid crystals. This monograph has it all. It could just as easily be titled “Everything You Wanted to Know about Liquid Crystals, but Were Afraid to Ask”. A brief perusal of the table of contents exemplifies the broad range of topics that are covered: introduction to the science and technology of liquid crystals, electric field effects in liquid crystals, structure and phase transitions of amphiphilic lyotropic liquid crystals, active matrix liquid crystal displays, and addressing in passive matrix, RMS responding liquid crystal displays. The book begins with the fundamentals of the liquid crystalline phase, progresses to a discussion of important parameters in liquid crystalline systems such as electric field and surface effects, and ends with technological aspects of utilizing liquid crystals in displays. It is an all-encompassing monograph that provides a link from the fundamental chemistry of liquid crystals to their technological applications. This book is an excellent source for anyone who wants to understand all aspects of liquid crystalline displays, from their physical chemistry to technological applications. The word that should be emphasized in the last sentence is all. This monograph provides an encyclopedic amount of information on liquid crystals and their display applications. Therefore, if you are interested in beginning or expanding a research program on liquid crystalline systems, this book should be on your shelf, as it provides a concise source for information on most aspects of liquid crystals that will be of interest. The references accompanying each chapter are also extensive. However, if you are merely interested in learning a little more about LCs for incorporation into a course or for your own personal interest, there are better overviews or introductions to liquid crystals and liquid crystalline displays, such as Collings’s Liquid Crystals: Nature’s Delicate Phase of Matter or DeGennes’s The Physics of Liquid Crystals. This handbook is certainly useful as a starting point to understanding the correlation between the chemistry of liquid crystals and their technological applications and should be a part of the chemistry collection in either your personal or your local library. Mark Dadmun Chemistry Department University of Tennessee Knoxville, TN 37996-1600
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Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 75 No. 10 October 1998 • JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu
