Two variational theories of liquid crystals are explained in this book: the first, presented by Zocher, Oseen and Frank, is classical; the other, put forward by Ericksen, is new in its formulation, although it has been anticipated in the literature of the past 20 years. This book should be of interest to applied maths researchers into crystal theory, materials, fluid dynamics etc.

This is a book on the dissipative dynamics of ordered fluids, §with a particular focus on liquid crystals. It covers a whole §range of different theories, mainly concerned with nematic liquid §crystals in both their chiral and nonchiral variants. The authors §begin by giving a detailed account of the molecular origins of §orientational order in fluids. They then go on to develop a general §framework in which continuum theories for ordered fluids can be phrased. §Within this unified setting, they cover both well-established classical theories and new ones with aspects that are not yet...