Issues

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1987

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July

  

Reviews of topical problems


Surface physics of thermotropic liquid crystals

 a,  b,
a Federal Scientific Research Center "Crystallography and Photonics", Russian Academy of Sciences, Shubnikov Institute of Crystallography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninskii prosp. 59, Moscow, 119333, Russian Federaion
b L.D. Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Chernogolovka, Moscow Region, Russian Federation

Phenomena occurring at the interface of liquid crystals with other (solid, liquid, and gaseous) phases are reviewed. The basic parameters of the macroscopic surface physics of thermotropic liquid crystals are studied: the adhesion energy, the surface order parameter, and the surface polarization; the basic methods for determining them experimentally are described. A great deal of attention is devoted to methods for obtaining a uniform orientation of liquid crystals. The role of the surface in phase transitions is analyzed in detail. The effect of the interface on the formation and structure of defects in liquid crystals is described. The role of van der Waals forces in the orientation of liquid crystals and in local Fredericks transitions is analyzed.

PACS: 61.30.Hn, 61.30.Eb, 61.30.Gd, 61.30.Jf, 64.70.Md (all)
DOI: 10.1070/PU1987v030n07ABEH002927
URL: https://ufn.ru/en/articles/1987/7/d/
Citation: Blinov L M, Kats E I, Sonin A A "Surface physics of thermotropic liquid crystals" Sov. Phys. Usp. 30 604–619 (1987)
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Оригинал: Блинов Л М, Кац Е И, Сонин А А «Физика поверхности термотропных жидких кристаллов» УФН 152 449–477 (1987); DOI: 10.3367/UFNr.0152.198707d.0449

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