The Birth Of LCD Screens

To trace the origin of liquid crystal displays, we must first start with the birth of "liquid crystal". In 1888, an Austrian botanist, Friedrich Reinitzer, discovered a special substance. He extracted a compound called helical benzoate from plants. When doing a heating experiment on this compound, he unexpectedly found that this compound had two melting points at different temperatures. Its state is between the liquid and solid substances we are generally familiar with, a bit like the colloidal solution of soapy water, but it has the properties of both liquid and crystalline substances within a certain temperature range. Due to its unique state, it was later named "Liquid Crystal", which means liquid crystalline substance. However, although liquid crystal was discovered as early as 1888, it was not until 80 years later that it was truly used in daily life.