Publisher's Synopsis
LCs are self-organized anisotropic fluids that are thermodynamically located between the isotropic liquid and the crystalline phase, exhibiting the fluidity of liquids as well as the long-range lattice order that can only be found in crystalline solids. The addition of nanomaterials to a LC material produces a composite or colloidal dispersion and results into a revolutionary change in their applications. This book will discuss the remarkable performances of nano-particle aided liquid crystals in metamaterials, photonics, functionalized polymer fibres, sensing, and medical diagnostics.