 First, the "nematic phase" he characterized as having microscopic threads (these threads are today interpreted as disclinations in the director-field in the mesophase).Second, Friedel coined the term "smectic phase" for a layered mesophase having the structure of neat soap.Third, Friedel use the term "cholesteric phase" for materials like cholesteryl benzoate, and noted that such mesophases "involve strong twists around a direction normal to the positive optical axis".