Liquid Crystals

Research on liquid crystals is done under the auspices of the SFB 335 "Anisotrope Fluide".
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If your browser supports java some liquid crystal molecules can be examined here.

MBBA

The figure above shows a space filling model of MBBA (n-4'-MethoxyBenzylidene-n-ButylAnilin ), one of the most prominent examples of nematic liquid crystals. These substances form – within a certain range of temperatures – phases exhibiting fluid-like properties as well as properties usually associated with solids (e.g. spontaneous birefringence). Microscopic models for this interesting behavior are related to the fact that the centers of mass of different molecules in the fluid are uncorrolated over long distances (fluid-like behavior) whereas the orientations of the elongated molecules show long-range corrolations. Since the mobility of electrons differs along the different main axes of the molecules (note the conjugated double bonds in the molecule) the orientational order of molecular axes leads to anisotropic optical behavior of the liquid.

If you are interested in an introduction to liquid crystals you can find a tutorial and other informations at the WWW server of the SFB 335 "Anisotrope Fluide".

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B. Hagemeister