LIQUID-CRYSTAL COMPOSITION

摘要

A smectic liquid-crystal composition according to the first embodiment is characterized in that a voltage gradation parameter L(=SH/SO) is less than 0.6, when a voltage is impressed upon a liquid-crystal cell that is filled with this composition and is put between a pair of polarizing plates placed at the position of crossed nicols to prepare a hysteresis curve relating to the voltage and light transmittance, and the tangent IR of the curve where the transmittance steeply increases as the voltage is impressed intersects at the point P with the tangent IF of the curve adjacent to the above curve on the high-voltage side. A liquid-crystal composition according to the second embodiment is characterized in that a parameter G as defined by the equation (B) is 0 to 0.3 (wherein S represents the area of the region surrounded by the hysteresis curve, Tmin represents the minimum value of the transmittance, and To represents the transmittance when no voltage is impressed), when the transmittance reaches the maximum value Tmax as the absolute value |V| of the impressed voltage is increased to exceed a given value |V|min.