In 1888 German scientist Friedrich Reinitzer extract a compound known as cholesterol from carrots. He found that when he heated the liquid it changed from an orange colour to clear due to the crystal structure within the liquid.
In 1962 electronics engineer Richard Williams found that he could make the crystals move when he applied an electric current to them. A few years later the first liquid crystals displays (LCD) were built. These simple back and white (silvery-grey) displays first appeared in watches and calculators. Today LCD are also found in televisions, mobile phones and laptop computers.
