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The liquid crystalline polysiloxanes 1 display a controllable range of colors. Irradiation of film with visible light results in a pale yellow color; irradiation of the yellow film with UV light results in a deep red color. If yellow film is irradiated with UV light at −20°C, it turns blue. Upon subsequent irradiation with visible light, it turns yellow once again. The blue film is stable at −20°C in the absence of light; upon warming to above −10°C, however, it turns red.
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Cabrera et al. (1987) studied this question.
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