Abstract
This paper comments on a recent article “Revolutionary poetry and liquid crystal chemistry: Herman Gorter, Ada Prins and the interface between literature and science” by Hub Zwart (Foundations of Chemistry, published online: 10 July 2020), in which the author explores the influence of the liquid crystal research of Ada Prins on the epic poem Pan written by her long-time lover Herman Gorter. The present paper reviews the basic science of liquid crystals and explains the connections between the work of Prins and its influence on the poem. Other examples of the use of “liquid crystal” as a literary device are identified from renaissance poetry, and the uses of the metaphor in these poems are analysed from a scientific perspective. From these examples it is suggested that creative concepts from poetry may contain elements of substance that appear in hitherto unrecognised scientific realities.
Highlights
A recent paper by Hub Zwart (2020) has examined the relationship between the epic poetry of Netherlander Herman Gorter (1864–1927) and the scientific studies of his long-time lover Ada Prins (1879–1977), a liquid crystal chemist
This paper, and the article it comments upon, are both inspired by the work of Ada Prins, a scientist from the University of Amsterdam and the first Dutch woman to be awarded a PhD in chemistry
The impact of liquid crystal research on humankind through liquid crystal displays has already been mentioned, but it had long been recognised that this new state of matter has many potential applications
Summary
A recent paper by Hub Zwart (2020) has examined the relationship between the epic poetry of Netherlander Herman Gorter (1864–1927) and the scientific studies of his long-time lover Ada Prins (1879–1977), a liquid crystal chemist. Two images are provided that Ada might have seen: (1) the subtle changes as a liquid crystal sample is heated in a test tube, and: (2) a multi-coloured image of interference colours generated by a thin film of a liquid crystal viewed between crossed polarisers exhibiting many types of structure that can be observed for these remarkable materials Droplets of liquid crystal can be formed in various ways as freestanding drops, or suspended in a different liquid, or observed separating from a liquid crystal-forming fluid, and their shapes may be spherical, disc-like or spindle-like These liquid crystal elements come closest to Gorter’s metaphorical representation of workers, and combine the qualities of disorder and motion with the possibility of self-organisation
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