The existing infrastructure for managing the flow of information along the photonic pathways and in our computers is in most segments based on electrically encoded information and the transport of electric charges using the electric force. This process is limiting the speed of signal propagation and is costly in terms of energy dissipation. The predicted worldwide energy consumption of data centers for 2050 is approaching the electric energy generated in the European Union in 2010! It is...

Noel Clark gives a series of lectures at the Boulder Condensed Matter Physics summer school 2012 about liquid crystals.

Noel Clark gives a series of lectures at the Boulder Condensed Matter Physics summer school 2012 about liquid crystals.

Noel Clark gives a series of lectures at the Boulder Condensed Matter Physics summer school 2012 about liquid crystals.

Energy loss through the windows remains a dominant obstacle in obtaining zero-energy buildings. In particular, for mixed climate environments, the solar heat gain coefficient of a window must be switchable to control the amount of solar heating in the winter and summer seasons. Furthermore, it is desirable for the system not to consume energy from the grid and operate in an autonomous way. Finally, the system must be scalable and cost effective to retrofit existing windows. In this talk, we...

The rapid developments in molecular sciences like nanotechnology, self-organizing molecular systems and biomaterials generate a wealth of new materials and functions. In comparison to electronics and medical sciences, the application of these new materials in architecture and civil engineering remains somewhat underexposed. It is our opinion that new functionalities in optics, responsive mechanics, sensing and adjustable permeation for gases and water might add to new opportunities in...

Stanislav Chernyshuk, Institute of Physics Abstract: A direct observation of the photochemical switching between colloidal crystals with different lattice constants in a liquid-crystal emulsion is reported. Glycerol droplets introduced in a nematic liquid crystal form two-dimensional hexagonal colloidal crystal at the nematic-air interface with a lattice constant depending on the surface tension LCA. We dope an azobenzene derivative into the LC emulsion to modulate the colloidal structures...

Akihiko Matsuyama, Kyushu Institute of Technology Abstract: We present a mean field theory to describe phase separations in mixtures of a liquid crystal and a colloidal particle. By taking into account a nematic and a smectic A ordering of liquid crystals and a crystalline ordering of colloidal particles, we calculate the phase diagrams on the temperature-concentration plane. We predict various phase separations, such as a smectic A-crystal phase separation and a smectic A-nematic-crystal...

Jaroslav Ilnytskyi, Institute for Condensed Matter Physics Abstract: Polymeric liquid crystals combine the features of both the polymer and liquid crystal. Their fine-tuning is possible on the stage of synthesis which leads to a number of practical applications (high strength plastics, displays, optical data storage). We present some recent results in molecular dynamics simulations of such systems. Liquid crystalline dendrimer is studied in isotropic, nematic and smectic A solvent and we...

Liang-Chy Chien, Kent State University Abstract: Cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs) in the planar texture possess the unique feature of separating incident light into its left- and right-handed circular components by reflecting one component and transmitting the other.1,2 In a planar aligned CLC with a preselected helical pitch only a single wavelength can be Bragg reflected (monochrome). In addition to the temperature dependence of Bragg reflected wavelength of a CLC, there are two ways...