Paper made from alginic acid fibers is outwardly similar to artificially woven
paper types such as conventional paper, and has been used in the making of speaker
cones. Paper from cellulose fiber was originally used for speakers, but suffered
problems with friction noises from the fibers; the use of paper made from alginic
acid fiber was a solution to this issue. Alginic acid paper is also edible and can be
used for internal food packaging. More interestingly, reagents such as barium
acetate or acetic acid can be added to alginic acid fibers to produce thin film
superconducting paper.
In Korea, paper production technology has undergone rapid growth since it was
first introduced around 1900 for the making of currency. Today, the country ranks
eighth worldwide in paper production and 21st in consumption, but remains almost
entirely dependent on imports for both the raw materials and special paper types. If
the abundance of natural algae resources can be used to develop new functional
papers, perhaps there will come a day when South Koreans favor paper made from
domestic ingredients.
8.3.3 Natural Liquid Crystals: A Cutting-Edge New Marine
Material
A. Liquid Crystals: A Fourth Non-liquid State of Matter
Liquid crystals, which are frequently encountered in electronic calculators and
digital watches, are a material with very unique properties. Typically, matter exists
in three states (gas, liquid, or solid), depending on its temperature. Some forms of
matter, however, have special properties that do not correspond to any one of these
states. Liquid crystals represent a fourth state of matter with both liquid and solid
properties. For example, the well-known cholesterol derivative cholesterol myristate exists in crystalline solid form at room temperature (20 °C), but dissolved into
liquid form when heated to 71 °C. The resulting liquid is highly turbid compared to
water or alcohol. When heated further to 86 °C, the turbid liquid enters a clear
liquid state that does not change with additional heating. The resulting turbid liquid
is neither solid nor liquid, but a different state that we refer to as a “liquid crystal.”
Substances that form liquid crystals typically consist of stiff and inflexible
molecules shaped like long rods. In the liquid crystal phase, the molecular configuration is not rigid and can be influenced by outside conditions (temperature,
magnetic field) to undergo phase transitions through changes of parameter and
orientation order. Liquid crystal displays take advantage of the electro-optical
effects of the liquid crystal obtained through this phase transition in the liquid
crystal’s molecular configuration.
The first liquid crystal-related substance to be discovered was myelin (a lyotropic liquid crystal in the broad sense) by Virchow in 1854. The first person to
discover the liquid crystal phenomenon was the Austrian biologist Reinitzer.
8.3 Bio Materials
247
paper types such as conventional paper, and has been used in the making of speaker
cones. Paper from cellulose fiber was originally used for speakers, but suffered
problems with friction noises from the fibers; the use of paper made from alginic
acid fiber was a solution to this issue. Alginic acid paper is also edible and can be
used for internal food packaging. More interestingly, reagents such as barium
acetate or acetic acid can be added to alginic acid fibers to produce thin film
superconducting paper.
In Korea, paper production technology has undergone rapid growth since it was
first introduced around 1900 for the making of currency. Today, the country ranks
eighth worldwide in paper production and 21st in consumption, but remains almost
entirely dependent on imports for both the raw materials and special paper types. If
the abundance of natural algae resources can be used to develop new functional
papers, perhaps there will come a day when South Koreans favor paper made from
domestic ingredients.
8.3.3 Natural Liquid Crystals: A Cutting-Edge New Marine
Material
A. Liquid Crystals: A Fourth Non-liquid State of Matter
Liquid crystals, which are frequently encountered in electronic calculators and
digital watches, are a material with very unique properties. Typically, matter exists
in three states (gas, liquid, or solid), depending on its temperature. Some forms of
matter, however, have special properties that do not correspond to any one of these
states. Liquid crystals represent a fourth state of matter with both liquid and solid
properties. For example, the well-known cholesterol derivative cholesterol myristate exists in crystalline solid form at room temperature (20 °C), but dissolved into
liquid form when heated to 71 °C. The resulting liquid is highly turbid compared to
water or alcohol. When heated further to 86 °C, the turbid liquid enters a clear
liquid state that does not change with additional heating. The resulting turbid liquid
is neither solid nor liquid, but a different state that we refer to as a “liquid crystal.”
Substances that form liquid crystals typically consist of stiff and inflexible
molecules shaped like long rods. In the liquid crystal phase, the molecular configuration is not rigid and can be influenced by outside conditions (temperature,
magnetic field) to undergo phase transitions through changes of parameter and
orientation order. Liquid crystal displays take advantage of the electro-optical
effects of the liquid crystal obtained through this phase transition in the liquid
crystal’s molecular configuration.
The first liquid crystal-related substance to be discovered was myelin (a lyotropic liquid crystal in the broad sense) by Virchow in 1854. The first person to
discover the liquid crystal phenomenon was the Austrian biologist Reinitzer.
8.3 Bio Materials
247