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Liquid crystal glazing, which is transparent or opaque according to whether or not it is activated by an electric field, can be used to instantly shut out unwanted eyes from or into rooms, offices or across counter barriers.

The glazing system consists of two sheets of glass between which is placed, a film of liquid crystal droplets (from 1 to 5 mm thick) imprisoned in a transparent polymer matrix and sandwiched between two transparent electrodes. This type of glazing operates by adapting the refractive index of the polymer matrix and the ordinary index of the liquid crystal droplets when the latter are aligned under the effect of an electric field. This makes the glass transparent.

In the absence of an electrical field, the liquid crystal molecules in each droplet are parallel but their direction of orientation varies from one droplet to another. This causes diffusion of the incident light and makes the glass opaque.

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