Thermotropic
Encyclopedia
A liquid crystal
(LC) is thermotropic if the order of its components is determined or changed by temperature.
If temperature is too high, the rise in energy and therefore in motion of the components will induce a phase change: the LC will become an isotropic liquid.
If, on the contrary, temperature is too low to support a thermotropic phase, the LC will become a crystal
.
There is therefore a range of temperatures at which we observe thermotropic LCs; and most of these have several "subphases" (nematic, smectic...), which we may observe by modifying the temperature.
Liquid crystal
Liquid crystals are a state of matter that have properties between those of a conventional liquid and those of a solid crystal. For instance, an LC may flow like a liquid, but its molecules may be oriented in a crystal-like way. There are many different types of LC phases, which can be...
(LC) is thermotropic if the order of its components is determined or changed by temperature.
If temperature is too high, the rise in energy and therefore in motion of the components will induce a phase change: the LC will become an isotropic liquid.
If, on the contrary, temperature is too low to support a thermotropic phase, the LC will become a crystal
Crystal
A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are arranged in an orderly repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions. The scientific study of crystals and crystal formation is known as crystallography...
.
There is therefore a range of temperatures at which we observe thermotropic LCs; and most of these have several "subphases" (nematic, smectic...), which we may observe by modifying the temperature.