2014 We present an analytic calculation of the normal modes of distortion induced by a small transverse A.C. electric field on a ferroelectric liquid crystal close to its transition temperature Tc between the smectic A and C* phases. These normal modes are superpositions of electric polarization and angular molecular distortion. Compared to a previous work of Blinc and Zeks, we assume that the ...

LLE Review, Volume 66 103 Low-Molar-Mass Liquid Crystals Liquid crystals (LC’s) represent a state-of-matter intermediate between a solid crystal and an isotropic liquid. A liquid crystal flows like an ordinary liquid, while other properties, such as optical and dielectric anisotropies, resemble those of a crystalline solid.1 In general, a somewhat rigid and anisomeric molecular shape (e.g., cyl...

A water bridge refers to an experimental "flexible cable" made up of pure de-ionized water, which can hang across two supports maintained with a sufficiently large voltage difference. The resulting electric fields within the de-ionized water flexible cable maintain a tension that sustains the water against the downward force of gravity. A detailed calculation of the water bridge tension will be...

We demonstrate that the finite rate of dielectric relaxation in liquid crystals which has been ignored previously causes profound effects in the fast dielectric reorientation of the director. We propose a theory of dielectric response in which the electric displacement depends not only on the present (as in the standard theory) but also on the past values of electric field and director. We desi...

We report on a thermodielectric bistability in dual frequency nematic liquid crystals (LCs) caused by the anisotropic nature of dielectric heating and director reorientation in an electric field. The bistability is a result of the positive feedback loop: director reorientation --> anisotropic dielectric heating --> dielectric anisotrophy --> director reorientation. We demonstrate both experimen...

Transformation of deuterated ethanol from supercooled liquid into a plastic crystal or rotator phase is investigated by means of a particular experimental setup combining simultaneously dielectric spectroscopy with neutron diffraction techniques. We demonstrate that, previous to the growth of the bcc lattice of the plastic crystal phase, the formation of a precursor or intermediate phase throug...

A Uniform Lying Helix (ULH) liquid crystal device (LCD) fabricated by utilizing the characteristics of shear flow alignment as well as dielectric anisotropy was demonstrated. Cholesteric liquid crystals with a short helical pitch can exhibit an electric field-induced tilt. These experimental results indicate that it is possible to realize a high-speed response flexible LCD using plastic substra...

Plasma sterilization offers a faster, less toxic and versatile alternative to conventional sterilization methods. Using a relatively small, low temperature, atmospheric, dielectric barrier discharge surface plasma generator, we achieved ≥ 6 log reduction in concentration of vegetative bacterial and yeast cells within 4 minutes and ≥ 6 log reduction of Geobacillus stearothermophilus spores withi...

An open resonance cell (ORC) with finite-length cylindrical mirrors is suggested for making absolute measurements of complex permittivity in the case of stretched cylindrical specimens or liquid dielectrics in cylindrical containers. For H-polarization, we report ORC features simulated in rigorous electromagnetic terms using a twodimensional (2-D) model of an open resonator with cylindrical mir...

Measurements of the temperature and frequency dependence of dielectric constants have been performed for five homologues in the range 100 Hz 10 MHz. These substances exhibit a negative anisotropy of the dielectric constants and two relaxation regions (rotation of the molecules around the short resp. long axis) in the investigated frequency range. Even in the crystalline state dipolar reorientat...