LAUSR

Significance Liquid crystal science grows in richness and applicability with each new phase that is found or created. The recent discovery of the ferroelectric nematic was both thrilling and unexpected, since it appeared in new molecules not much different in structure from many similar materials studied over the last 100 years. Clearly, significant secrets remain to be discovered in the complexities of organic molecular architecture and interaction. A fundamental question following the ferroelectric nematic discovery was whether there could also be a ferroelectric smectic A, the nematic-companion phase obtained when molecules spontaneously position to form planar, fluid layers normal to their molecular long axes. Here, we report such a phase, broadening the ferroelectric nematic realm.