thermotropic, a. Bot.
(θɜːməʊˈtrɒpɪk, -ˈtrəʊpɪk)
[f. Gr. θερµο-, thermo- + -τροπ-ος turning + -ic: cf. heliotropic.]
1. Turning or bending under the influence of heat; of, pertaining to, or exhibiting thermotropism.
| 1885 G. L. Goodale Physiol. Bot. (1892) 394 Curvatures dependent upon temperature are called thermotropic. |
2. Physical Chem. Brought about or effected by a change in temperature: used esp. with reference to mesophases and their phase transitions.
| 1909 Senier & Shepheard in Jrnl. Chem. Soc. XCV. ii. 1945 Phototropic and thermotropic reactions are more probably due to isomeric changes affecting the aggregation of molecules in solids than to intramolecular change. 1962 G. W. Gray Molecular Structure & Properties of Liquid Crystals i. 5 Mesophases are most commonly observed when a suitable compound is heated to a temperature above that at which the crystal lattice is stable. This type of mesomorphism is called thermotropic. 1966, etc. [see lyotropic a. 2]. 1972 Physics Bull. May 279/3 This article will be concerned only with those liquid crystals, known as thermotropic, where the phase transitions are induced by a change in temperature. 1978 Nature 13 Apr. 646/1 The membrane lipids of cells cultured in these conditions show a greatly sharpened thermotropic gel-to-liquid crystalline phase transition. |