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liquid crystal
noun
: an organic liquid whose physical properties resemble those of a crystal in the formation of loosely ordered molecular arrays similar to a regular crystalline lattice and the anisotropic refraction of light
Examples of liquid crystal in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The panel is an LCD (short for liquid crystal display) sheet that can produce images when electricity flows through it.
—PCMAG, 1 Apr. 2024
His company’s 3-D cinema system uses a liquid crystal filter to circularly polarize light.
—IEEE Spectrum, 30 Dec. 2010
The twin micro-OLED displays deliver exceptionally high resolution and sharp contrast, significantly outperforming the liquid crystal displays in most VR headsets.
—Sanjit Singh Dang, Phd, Forbes, 9 Feb. 2024
In the new study, the researchers coupled chiral liquid crystals with fluorescent dyes that emitted red, green, or blue light.
—IEEE Spectrum, 16 Nov. 2023
Although chiral liquid crystals are widely used in display and imaging technologies, previous applications were limited to chiral liquid crystals that were relatively fluid in how their molecules were arranged.
—IEEE Spectrum, 16 Nov. 2023
These different symmetries, which determine how liquid crystals respond to physical forces, simply appear at different scales.
—WIRED, 10 Dec. 2023
And just as a wood plank is strongest along its grain, a liquid crystal’s response to stimuli depends on its symmetry and orientation.
—Elise Cutts, Quanta Magazine, 25 Oct. 2023
This directionality, called anisotropy, is the optical magic behind modern liquid crystal displays, which refract light differently depending on their orientation.
—Elise Cutts, Quanta Magazine, 25 Oct. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'liquid crystal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1891, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near liquid crystal
Cite this Entry
“Liquid crystal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/liquid%20crystal. Accessed 10 Jun. 2024.
Medical Definition
liquid crystal
noun
: an organic liquid whose physical properties resemble those of a crystal in the formation of loosely ordered molecular arrays similar to a regular crystalline lattice and the anisotropic refraction of light
More from Merriam-Webster on liquid crystal
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about liquid crystal
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