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A Study Of Molecular Order And Motion In Nematic Liquid Crystal Mixtures, Jon Michael Goetz

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Materials which flow like fluids, but possess anisotropic properties like molecular crystals, are called 'liquid crystals'. Studies of liquid crystals contribute to our understanding of how molecular orientation influences macroscopic properties. This thesis presents experimental and theoretical investigations of molecular order and dynamics in nematic liquid crystal systems. First, deuterium nuclear magnetic resonance is used to determine the degree of orientational order of both components of a liquid crystal mixture simultaneously. The temperature dependence of the four order parameters is interpreted using a newly developed mean field theory of nematic binary mixtures composed of biaxial molecules. Next, mean field theory …