Melting phenomena and liquid-crystalline behavior.

In a classical melting of a solid to a liquid, the strongly organized molecular array of the solid collapses to give the disorganized liquid where the molecules tumble and rotate freely. However, in melting processes that are mediated by liquid-crystalline behavior there is a stepwise breakdown in order. The incremental steps of this breakdown occur with increasing temperature, thus producing a variety of thermodynamically stable, intermediary states between the solid and the liquid. This collection of structurally, unique phases constitutes the thermotropic liquid- crystalline mesomorphic state.