smectic
/ˈsmɛktɪk
/adjective
Denoting or involving a state of a liquid crystal in which the molecules are oriented in parallel and arranged in well-defined planes. Compare with nematic.Our results suggest that of the multiple structures which different monolayers form when supercompressed, pulmonary surfactant collapses by the same mechanism as other compounds that form smectic liquid-crystal bulk phases....
- Molecules in the smectic phase have orientational as well as a small amount of positional order.
- Hydrated phospholipids themselves are liquid-crystals, and in these multiple respects, their behavior resembles that of at least some other compounds that form smectic bulk phases.
noun
A smectic substance.There also exists higher order smectics which form layers with positional ordering within the layers....
- We outline the possible experimental significance of our findings for the rheology of both aligned and polydomain smectics.
- We find that the quantum smectics are rather different from the usual classical smectics in that the density correlations along the direction of the stripes manifest a Bragg-Glass type behaviour whereas those in the transverse direction are infra-red divergent.
Origin
Late 17th century: via Latin from Greek smēktikos 'cleansing' (because of the soap-like consistency).