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Phase Transitions In Smectic Liquid Crystal Systems, John Van Atta, Josh Ziegler
Phase Transitions In Smectic Liquid Crystal Systems, John Van Atta, Josh Ziegler
Physics
Liquid crystal systems show strong responses to small changes in both temperature and electric field. Changing these conditions can result in phase shifts and other similar behaviors. We study several theoretical models of smectic liquid crystals. The ideas and notation are first developed in basic polynomial models used to describe liquid crystal systems dependent only on temperature. Specifically, smectic-C to smectic-A phase transitions are examined in a fourth-order polynomial model. The bifurcations in the nonlinear equations are shown to correspond to the phase transi- tions in the system. Similar analytic techniques are then applied to a more complex model, based …
Optical Properties Of De Vries Liquid Crystals And A Look At Ultra Thin Freely Suspended Smectic Films, Joshua P. Fankhauser
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 …