When a chiral nematic liquid crystal is heated, the cholesteric-isotropic transition can be observed. Just at the edge of the transition, both phases coexist. When the heating is stopped, the system self-organizes, forming different structures and shapes along its texture.

The liquid crystal used was a chiral nematic liquid sample with E7 (Merck) as the nematic host and EOS-12 chiral dopant at 7% by weight. The liquid crystal used was synthesized at the Universidad de Concepción, Chile. The image was taken using the POM technique at 5x magnification. To obtain this texture, the samples were heated at a rate of 1°C/min to about 61°C, where the cholesteric-isotropic transition begins. At the edge of the transition the heating is stopped, so the system forms a texture with a wide range of defects due to the coexistence of phases in the sample. The self-organization of vortices, cholesteric fingers, isotropic bubbles create an interesting display of chiral nematic phenomena.

The photo shows once again how liquid crystals combine science and artistic aspects, so the picture is very attractive from an aesthetic and artistic point of view.