Ref HAL: hal-01906564_v1
DOI: 10.1016/j.molliq.2018.02.055
WoS: 000447575800015
Exporter : BibTex | endNote
2 Citations
Résumé:

We report measurements and theoretical predictions on the effect of an aligning magnetic field on the orientational disorder of a nematic liquid crystal in contact with isotropic solid substrates. Different types of substrates present a similar disorder and a similar dependency on the magnetic field amplitude, i.e. a decreasing of the angular distribution widths and spatial correlation lengths. Measurements are in qualitative agreement with a theory where the orientational disorder emerges from the competition between the aligning magnetic torque and the disorienting thermal fluctuations during the adsorption of the liquid crystal molecules on the substrate.