Where does this come from, and can I check it?

Rod shaped molecules keep a shared orientation while sliding past one another. The figure is taken from Encyclopaedia Britannica, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a science fact?

Yes. It sits on the Science shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

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The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

Liquid crystals flow yet still bend light

Rod shaped molecules keep a shared orientation while sliding past one another A liquid crystal sits between two familiar states, with the mobility of a liquid and some of the order of a crystal. Rod shaped molecules line up along a common direction that an electric field can twist. LCD screens use this effect to switch polarised light pixel by pixel. It sits in Mondo's science collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

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Technology trivia

More facts like this

Calcite crystals split passing light rays into double imagesBirefringent minerals refract light at two different angles based on polarisation Newton split white light with a prismA glass prism spreads sunlight into a rainbow because each colour bends differently A rainbow forms opposite the SunSunlight bends and reflects inside raindrops to make an arc around the antisolar point Rayleigh scattering makes the daytime sky blueAir molecules scatter short blue wavelengths far more strongly than long red ones A polarising filter blocks half of ordinary lightThe filter passes only waves oscillating along one axis and absorbs the rest Some colours come from structure, not pigmentTiny repeating shapes in feathers and shells reflect certain wavelengths by interference

Tags: materials, optics, displays

Liquid crystals flow yet still bend light: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: Rod shaped molecules keep a shared orientation while sliding past one another. The figure is taken from Encyclopaedia Britannica, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a science fact?: Yes. It sits on the Science shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.