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Teaching liquid crystals – observation inspired curiosity

Soft matter has become involved in all aspects of everyday life over the past few decades, from diapers and the water-absorbing colloidal crystals hidden in them to the omnipresent liquid crystal displays. This article discusses an introduction to one example of soft matter – liquid crystals – at various educational levels. It stresses the importance of experimental work and presents a few simplified versions of elaborate techniques graduate students later meet in laboratories. A set of simple experiments, which illustrate typical phenomena for liquid crystals, but use different approaches or different materials than liquid crystals, are also presented. Drawing upon analogies is an essential part of an active researcher’s thought processes. By providing analogous experiences and showing clear analogies between various phenomena, a lecturer can train students in the use of analogies as a standard approach when encountering new problems.