Vladimir G. Chigrinov obtained his Ph.D. from the Institute of Crystallography, USSR Academy of Sciences, in 1978, and his state doctorate from the same Institute in 1988. Since 1996, he has been working as a leading scientist at the Shubnikov Institute of Crystallography in Moscow, prior to which he held a post as head of division of the Organic Intermediates and Dyes Institute, Scientific Research Center of Russia. Dr. Chigrinov is a member of the editorial board of the journal 'Liquid Crystal Today' and the author of several books and numerous scientific papers. He is Visiting Associate Professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and a senior member of the Society for Information Display.Sergey V. Pasechnik received his Ph.D. degree from the All-Union Engineering Institute in Moscow in 1980, and his state doctorate from the Moscow Pedagogical University in 1999. In 1999, he accepted a professorship for bioengineering at the Moscow State Academy of Instrument Engineering and Computer Science, where he is also the Head of the Laboratory of Molecular Acoustics. From 2003 to 2006, Dr. Pasechnik stayed as a visiting scholar at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He has published more than 120 scientific articles and is a member of the International Liquid Society and of the Society for Information Display.Dina V. Shmeliova holds a post as assistant professor at the Department of Physics, Moscow State Academy of Instrument Engineering and Computer Science. She received her Ph.D. degree from Moscow State Regional University in 2005. Dr. Shmeliova has published more than 20 scientific papers in the field of liquid crystals since 2000 and is a member of the International Crystal Society and of the Society for Information Display.

Focusing on fiber optic devices in telecommunication circuits, this monograph presents and discusses the viscous and elastic properties of liquid crystals and shows the importance of these properties for practical applications in both display and non-display technologies.

1. Introduction2. Physical Backgrounds for Practical Applications of Liquid Crystals 3. Flows of Anisotropic Liquids4. Ultrasound in Liquid Crystals5. Experimental Determination of Elastic and Viscous Parameters of Liquid Crystals6. Liquid Crystals for Display and Photonics Applications7. Liquid Crystal Sensors

Covering numerous practical applications as yet not covered in any single source of information, this monograph discusses the importance of viscous and elastic properties for applications in both display and non-display technologies. The very well-known authors are major players in this field of research and pay special attention here to the use of liquid crystals in fiber optic devices as applied in telecommunication circuits.