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Condensed Matter Physics

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

Physics

Theses/Dissertations

Liquid Crystal

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Optical Properties Of De Vries Liquid Crystals And A Look At Ultra Thin Freely Suspended Smectic Films, Joshua P. Fankhauser Jun 2014

Optical Properties Of De Vries Liquid Crystals And A Look At Ultra Thin Freely Suspended Smectic Films, Joshua P. Fankhauser

Physics

Liquid crystals exist as a fourth state of matter. They are anisotropic and due to this order, they affect light that passes through them, making them ideal candidates for optical study. By employing a basic technique for measuring a liquid crystal's birefringence and tilt angle, one is able to study a number of other properties such as the electroclinic effect. In addition, smectic liquid crystals have been studied intently because of their ability to create stable ultra-thin films of quantized layer thickness. These thin films have been studied due to the fact that they are an ideal system for investigating …


Analysis Of An Unusual Liquid Crystal Phase Transition, Loni Ann Fuller Jun 2013

Analysis Of An Unusual Liquid Crystal Phase Transition, Loni Ann Fuller

Physics

Liquid crystals are a unique phase of matter that resemble a state between a solid and liquid. Within these properties, liquid crystal molecules have the ability to align and create layers. From this phenomenon, many electro-optical effects can be investigated, such as measuring the tilt angle between molecules at different temperatures and applied electric fields and also measuring the birefringence, which is a unique property of liquid crystals in which the index of refraction of the sample behaves differently along different axes. In order to better understand these electro- optical effects, we designed a more precise protocol of measuring this …