A higher-voltage pulse switches the Bright ‘ON’ state to a Dark ‘OFF’ state by twisting the liquid crystal helix, which makes the crystal transparent to the back surface of the cell. A higher-voltage pulse is sufficient to untwist the helix, driving the display back to the ON state upon removal of the pulse. In a bi-stable LCD display, these layers can be parallel to the plane of the display (ON), giving a bright colored, liquid crystal appearance.