Method of making liquid crystal material including polymerizing dispersion of prepolymer and liquid crystal which is immiscible in the prepolymer

Abstract

An encapsulated liquid crystal material which comprises a liquid crystal composition dispersed in a containmant medium and is responsive to an applied electric field to transform from a first visual state to a second visual state is made by: (a) providing a liquid crystal composition having an ordinary and an extraordinary refractive index; (b) providing a prepolymer material in which the liquid crystal composition is substantially immiscible and which is polymerizable into a containment medium having a refractive index which is substantially matched with the ordinary refractive index of the liquid crystal composition; (c) forming a dispersion of the liquid crystal composition in the prepolymer material, the dispersion having a mean volume diameter of less than 20 .mu.m; and (d) polymerizing the prepolymer material to form the encapsulated liquid crystal material.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.