Liquid crystal research at Tsinghua University in the 1970s and 1980s

Publication Date

12-20-2022

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

International Journal of Modern Physics B

Volume

36

Issue

31

DOI

10.1142/S0217979222300067

Abstract

Liquid crystal (LC) research in China started during the Cultural Revolution years in the late 1960s. It was motivated partly by the potential application in liquid-crystal display (LCD) digital television (TV) and movies, deemed good for the government's political propaganda agenda. The large-screen LCD TV/ movie project was initiated and done at the Tsinghua University, Beijing, which became successful in 1976 with prototypes built. Although it never reached the commercial stage, the research achievement was world-leading then. Here, the history of this project and other LC research at the Tsinghua University in the 1970s and 1980s are described for the first time, with appropriate historical backgrounds provided. Tsinghua's significant contributions in basic LC research and a description of the founding and workings of the Chinese Liquid Crystal Society are also included. Finally, lessons drawn from this piece of science history are presented.

Keywords

bowlic, China, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Liquid Crystal Society, Institute of Physics, large-screen television and movie, LCD, Liquid crystal, Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, Tsinghua University

Department

Physics and Astronomy

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