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Tabe Lab
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A soft matter physics lab that observes the structure and motion of liquid crystals under a microscope.
AboutAbout the lab
Observing liquid crystal motion directly by eye
Tabe Lab studies the structure and motion of liquid crystals, a type of material.
Its main research subject is the "two-dimensional liquid crystal," a layer only one to a few molecules thick, measuring a few nanometers.
Using a polarizing microscope, the lab carries out experiments while directly observing the motion of liquid crystal molecules by eye.
The lab also works on applying the collective motion of liquid crystals to energy conversion and the life sciences.
Key terms
- Liquid crystal
- A material whose molecules are aligned in a common orientation, with properties between those of a solid and a liquid
- Monolayer
- A very thin film in which molecules are arranged in a single flat layer
- Nonequilibrium dynamics
- A field of physics that deals with phenomena that do not settle into a fixed state and keep changing over time
ResearchResearch themes
The lab studies the structure and motion of liquid crystals through observation with a polarizing microscope. In particular, it focuses on "two-dimensional liquid crystals," in which molecules are arranged in only a few layers, and investigates the mechanism by which molecules give rise to a material.
*Illustrative imageLiquid crystals under a polarizing microscope
When an external force is applied to a liquid crystal, the molecules move collectively while keeping their orientation aligned. The lab studies this behavior by observing it directly by eye with a polarizing microscope.
*Illustrative imageTwo-dimensional liquid crystals
The main research subject is the "monolayer" (two-dimensional liquid crystal), in which molecules are arranged in one to a few layers and the thickness is only a few nanometers. The lab investigates phenomena that bridge the gap between molecules and materials.
*Illustrative imageCollective motion of liquid crystals
The lab studies phenomena in which a slight stimulus such as light or water vapor makes the orientation of liquid crystal molecules propagate in one direction like a wave. Such states are called "nonequilibrium dynamics."
*Illustrative imageApplications to energy conversion
The lab discovered that when chiral liquid crystals are exposed to water vapor or a temperature difference, the molecules rotate in one direction. It aims to apply this to technologies such as converting waste heat into energy.
MembersFaculty
- ProfessorYuka Tabe
VoicesStudent voices
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Texture in a polarizing microscope of a B7 bent-core phase of a liquid crystal” Ingo Dierking / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Liquid crystals under a polarizing microscope: “Nematic liquid crystal” Ingo Dierking / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Two-dimensional liquid crystals: “Lipid Islands on Soap Bubble” KarlGaff / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Collective motion of liquid crystals: “Dominoes falling” Kurt:S / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Applications to energy conversion: “Crookes radiometer J1” Jamain / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (原山研究室): “Neighborhood of attractor of discretized Lorenz system. XYZ(9) plane” German A. Chernykh & Irina A. Chernykh / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (小澤研究室): “World First Hiperboloid structure named Shukhov Tower in Polibino” Arssenev / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (望月研究室): “Феррожидкость в магнитном поле” Gribkov / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (溝川研究室): “ESRF img 0853” Rama / CC BY-SA 2.0 fr (cropped)
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