The  paper of  the  month,  chosen  by  the Editor-in-Chief,  is  "Polymerization-Induced Modification of the Switching Process of a Nematic"  by M. Kajkowska, M. Chychłowski and D. Budaszewski;

DOI: 10.12693/APhysPolA.147.482

The present paper describes a novel approach to switching of liquid crystals (LC) stabilized by macromolecular dopants. Unusual polymer chains are obtained by irradiating a uniformly oriented nematic with a high-intensity blue laser. Only one small part of the composite is irradiated and, therefore, is heated, at a time. In this way, shorter chains that are not anchored to the aligning surface of the liquid crystal cell are created. This demonstrates a possibility of modifying the switching process of a nematic liquid crystal without introducing light scattering on the polymer network and any visible changes in LC’s birefringence. The polymerization method described in the paper might be used for the fabrication of new kinds of liquid crystal-based optical switches.

The paper opens a promising way to develop new switches and other devices based on liquid crystals. The paper is recommended for all researchers interested in liquid crystals and their applications.

The Editor-in-Chief