Techy Drift

  LCDs (liquid crystal display) are used in televisions, laptop computers and many portable electronic devices. In 1888 the properties of liquid crystals were first discovered by Friedrich Reinitzer. he was measuring the melting point of a cholesterol-based substance and noticed that it had two melting points: It melted at 293°F(145°C) to give a cloudy, glue like liquid, then again at 352°F(178°C) to give a clear liquid.     Otto Lehmann, an expert in crystal optics , studied these phases and found that the cloudy liquid had similar properties to the solid crystal. In the solid crystal the molecules are lined up neatly and in parallel.  In the cloudy liquid, the molecules can move around. However they tend to line up like in the solid crystal, reflecting light to appear cloudy. Lehmann named the liquid fliessende Kristalle, or liquid crystal.      In 1968 George Heilmeier led a group at the radio corporation of america to develop the first LCD. They used the dynamic scattering method,