Effects of Dielectric and Conductivity Anisotropies on Molecular Alignment in a Liquid Crystal.

摘要

The relative effectiveness of electric and magnetic fields for producing molecular alignment in a nematic liquid crystal has been investigated while changing the magnitudes of the dielectric and conductivity anisotropies. The comparison was made for an ordering of the molecules such that the average angle that a molecule makes with the magnetic field is 45 deg. A relationship involving dielectric, conductivity, and magnetic permeability anisotropies was found to be satisfied in a range of magnetic fields strengths of 3-6 kG. It the torque due to the conductivity anisotropy was greater than the torque due to the dielectic anisotropy, stable William domains were likely to be observed, but if it was less, stable Williams domains were unlikely to occur. This has been shown earlier for materials exhibiting a negative dielectric anisotropy but this work emphasizes materials with a positive dielectirc anisotropy.