Soft-switch technology

The soft-switch technology uses a so-called quantum tunneling composite (QTC). This composite has a remarkable characteristic that enables it to be an isolator in its normal condition and to change into a metal-like conductor when pressure is being exercised on it77. 

The first major switch resulted from the basic research enabling the technical production of soft polyurethane foams in the early 1950s. This technology was mostly focused on polyester polyols as raw materials. About five years later polyether polyols entered the... 

Liquid crystals, polymers and liquid crystalline polymers are soft condensed matter systems of major technological and scientific interest. In liquid crystals the orientational order of the constituent molecules is associated with a reduced or absent translational order. This gives liquid crystalline systems a combination of fluidity (liquid-like properties) and anisotropic electro optic properties, similar to those of a crystal. Orientational order can be controlled easily by the application of external fields, leading to the spatial switching of bulk properties in response to external stimuli. This provides the basis for a wide range of technological applications, including displays, optical switches, adaptive optics for telescopes and many other electro-optical devices. 

Liquid crystals are orientationally ordered fluids they are soft materials in the sense that their physical properties can be readily altered by even modest fields. They are particularly well suited for optical applications requiring switching. In addition to their usefulness in display technology, they are also becoming increasingly important candidate materials for applications in non-... 

---