3 Smart Things: The Hidden Lives of Liquids
1. Most substances make a clean break between their liquid and solid states. But liquid crystals straddle the boundary: They flow smoothly, like water, while maintaining a crystalline structure. A tiny jolt of electricity aligns the molecules in the same direction and allows them to rotate light\u2014an effect you see when the pixels in your LCD television or smartphone flip on and off to form pretty images. 2.