Thermotropic crystal 3028112 139696919 2007-06-21T16:32:52Z T-borg 677910 [[WP:UNDO|Undid]] revision 139689895 by [[Special:Contributions/69.149.128.91|69.149.128.91]] ([[User talk:69.149.128.91|talk]]); test 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. ==See also== * [[Thermochromism]] *[[Liquid_crystals#Thermotropic_liquid_crystals]] ==External links== * http://www.tu-berlin.de/~insi/ag_heppke/clark/lcintro.htm [[Category:Liquid crystals]]