Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are materials that combine the reversible ordering properties of liquid crystal molecules, i.e., mesogens, with the elastic nature of a cross-linked polymer network.

Cornell researchers have developed a two-phase liquid crystal system that can rapidly change—and hold—its shape, transforming from a transparent thin liquid film to an opaque emulsion, and then back ...

(Nanowerk Spotlight) The next generation of robots may not look anything like the rigid, mechanical machines we’re used to. Instead, imagine a robot that moves more like an octopus or a human hand, ...