Color Properties of Liquid Crystals and Their Application to Visual Arts*

Selective reflection properties of cholesteric liquid crystals are reviewed. It is then shown that the color of superimposed coatings of these substances is perceived as that of an additive mixture of colors of the coatings. This property permits one to synthesize many spectral reflectance distributions. A greater color gamut than is possible with other colorants can be realized. Applications to visual arts that take advantage of the additive color properties, the highly saturated colors, and the dependence of colors on temperature, angle of illumination, and angle of viewing are discussed.