SPIE Milestones are collections of seminal papers from the world literature covering important discoveries and developments in optics and photonics.

This volume represents a collection of selected papers presented at a symposium of the same name sponsored by the Division of Colloid and Surface Chemistry held at the national Spring meeting of the American Chemical Society in Las Vegas, Nevada, March 29 - April 1, 1982. Also included are invited papers from a number of outstanding overseas liquid crystal scientists who were unable to attend the symposium. The attendance at the symposium itself and the number of papers contained herein is reflective of the high level of current interest in (and maturity of) the field of liquid crystal research. Included in this volume are papers mainly derived from the fields of chemistry and physics ranging in content from the design and synthesis of new meso genic materials to theoretical physical treatments of anisotropic liquids. One of the significant aspects of current liquid crystal research is the increasing col laboration between chemist and phys.icist. The overlap of these two areas has been growing over the last several years and many contri butions to this volume involve a molecular approach to the chemical physics of liquid crystalline materials.

Volume is indexed by Thomson Reuters CPCI-S (WoS). Liquid crystals are substances that have properties which are intermediate between those of a conventional liquid and those of a solid crystal. This special collection comprises peer-reviewed papers that are concerned with all aspects of liquid crystal science and technology. The volume consists of five parts: plenary lectures, the molecular design and synthesis of liquid crystals, the characterization of liquid crystals, the applications of liquid crystals, and the emerging technologies and materials relevant to information display.

Fundamentals of Photonics A complete, thoroughly updated, full-color third edition Fundamentals of Photonics, Third Edition is a self-contained and up-to-date introductory-level textbook that thoroughly surveys this rapidly expanding area of engineering and applied physics. Featuring a blend of theory and applications, coverage includes detailed accounts of the primary theories of light, including ray optics, wave optics, electromagnetic optics, and photon optics, as well as the interaction of light and matter. Presented at increasing levels of complexity, preliminary sections build toward more advanced topics, such as Fourier optics and holography, photonic-crystal optics, guided-wave and fiber optics, LEDs and lasers, acousto-optic and electro-optic devices, nonlinear optical devices, ultrafast optics, optical interconnects and switches, and optical fiber communications. The third edition features an entirely new chapter on the optics of metals and plasmonic devices. Each chapter contains highlighted equations, exercises, problems, summaries, and selected reading lists. Examples of real systems are included to emphasize the concepts governing applications of current interest. Each of the twenty-four chapters of the second edition has been thoroughly updated.

These proceedings comprise a selection of the peer-reviewed papers that were presented at the 2nd International Symposium on Liquid Crystals: Science and Technology. Volume is indexed by Thomson Reuters CPCI-S (WoS). The topics of the 102 papers cover: the physics of liquid crystals, the chemistry of liquid crystals, applications of liquid crystals and related materials. This work will provide guidance to physicists, chemists and materials scientists working in the field of liquid crystals.

This book on liquid crystals reports on the new perspectives that have been brought about by the recent expansion of frontiers and overhaul of common beliefs. First, it explores the interaction of light with mesophases, when the light or matter is endowed with topological defects. It goes on to show how electrophoresis, electro-osmosis and the swimming of flagellated bacteria are affected by the anisotropic properties of liquid crystals. It also reports on the recent progress in the understanding of thermomechanical and thermohydrodynamical effects in cholesterics and deformed nematics and refutes the common belief that these effects could explain Lehmann’s observations of the rotation of cholesteric droplets subjected to a temperature gradient. It then studies the physics of the dowser texture, which has remarkable properties. This is of particular interest in regards to nematic monopoles, which can easily be generated, set into motion and collided within it. Finally, this book deals with the spontaneous emergence of chirality in nematics made of achiral molecules, and provides a brief historical context of chirality