Welcome to the LC Texture Blog. I started this blog with two main goals:
1) to showcase off the beauty of liquid crystals, and
2) provide a forum for discussing the art and science of liquid crystal optical microscopy.
Hopefully the aesthetics of liquid crystals will be self-explanatory. The second bit needs a bit of background. Polarized optical microscopy (or "POM") is the go-to technique for liquid crystal researchers. An expert practitioner can often infer the underlying molecular order of a liquid crystal by examining the characteristic optical patterns (or "textures") the material exhibits under a microscope. So for a liquid crystal researcher, these pictures aren't just pretty, but also provide crucial information. This is why we often refer to the optical microscopy of liquid crystals as textural analysis.
I am far from an expert at textural analysis. However, over the course of two decades of working with liquid crystals, I have managed to pick up some of the tricks of the trade. My goal is to pass on some of these tricks to newcomers to the field.
And if you're not a liquid crystal researcher, then just enjoy the pretty pictures. Like this one of a nematic liquid crystal:
1) to showcase off the beauty of liquid crystals, and
2) provide a forum for discussing the art and science of liquid crystal optical microscopy.
Hopefully the aesthetics of liquid crystals will be self-explanatory. The second bit needs a bit of background. Polarized optical microscopy (or "POM") is the go-to technique for liquid crystal researchers. An expert practitioner can often infer the underlying molecular order of a liquid crystal by examining the characteristic optical patterns (or "textures") the material exhibits under a microscope. So for a liquid crystal researcher, these pictures aren't just pretty, but also provide crucial information. This is why we often refer to the optical microscopy of liquid crystals as textural analysis.
I am far from an expert at textural analysis. However, over the course of two decades of working with liquid crystals, I have managed to pick up some of the tricks of the trade. My goal is to pass on some of these tricks to newcomers to the field.
And if you're not a liquid crystal researcher, then just enjoy the pretty pictures. Like this one of a nematic liquid crystal: