We were all taught that there were four states of matter: solids, liquids, gases and plasma, but some states of matter cannot be defined by one of these four. One of which is liquid crystals. These crystals have both liquid and solid properties. They physically flow like liquids, but also share the characteristics of crystalline solids. There are also several types of liquid crystals and their different phases. Since they have so many properties, it's no wonder we use them today. They are found in the majority of electronic devices and technologies today. The first discovery of liquid crystals is believed to have taken place around 150 years ago, but it was not clearly clarified until around 50 years ago. The first discovery was made around the 1850s by Virchow, Mettenheimer and Valentin. They were studying a certain type of nerve fibers and one day realized that when left in water, they formed a fluid substance that, when observed using polarized light, would exhibit strange behavior. They did not notice that this behavior was a new phase between a liquid and a solid, but they are credited with the first observation of liquid crystals. A little later, in 1877, Otto Lehmann used a polarizing microscope with a heated stage to study the phase transitions of different substances. He discovered that one of the substances he was testing changed from a clear liquid to a cloudy liquid before crystallizing. He did not consider this a new phase, but thought it was an imperfect transition of the different phases from liquid to crystal, or an undefined phase. A year later, in 1888, Reinitzer conducted experiments similar to those above and was the first to declare that this cloudy fluid was a new phase of matter....... middle of paper ..... .as. Other biological uses include cell membrane DNA and proteins. The liquid crystal phase plays an important role in our life and contributes to living beings. It also contributes to everyday technologies. This is an important phase of matter that we will continue to use every day and use for the benefit of our civilization to improve it. Works Cited http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_crystal http://www. lci.kent.edu/lc.html#Descriptionhttp://electronics.howstuffworks.com/lcd.htmhttp://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/liquid_crystal.aspxhttp://www.eng.ox.ac.uk /lc/introduction/intro_1.htmlhttp://www.personal.soton.ac.uk/tim/lc.htmlhttp://plc.cwru.edu/tutorial/enhanced/files/LC/intro.htmhttp://74.125 . 47.132/search?q=cache:FXC5vOAN7woJ:invsee.asu.edu/nmodules/liquidmod/good.html+uses+for+liquid+ crystals&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us