The physics of lyotropic nematic liquid crystals

Lyotropic nematic liquid crystals are mixtures of amphiphilic molecules and a solvent which under particular temperature-concentration conditions present some degree of orientational ordering of the micelles. In this paper we present an overview of the research in this area, focusing on problems like structure, local ordering, phase transitions, anchoring and hydrodynamic instabilities in lyotropic. The change in the shape anisotropy of the micelles as a function of temperature is discussed as being responsible for many unusual behaviors observed in experiments with lyotropic. (author)