Thermal and Optical Studies of Liquid Crystal Phases and Phase Transitions

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In the development of our current understanding of condensed phases of matter (e.g., solids, fluids, superfluids, liquid crystals, magnetism, etc.), the concepts of symmetry and dimensionality have played vital roles. This is especially true in the study of transitions from one phase to another where it is currently believed that a knowledge of the dimensionality and of the change in symmetry of the two phases is often sufficient for the determination of singularities in the structural and thermal response functions of the system very near the transition. This unifying concept is currently being widely tested and exploited to systematize condensed matter phases according to their sometimes subtle properties. Proposed here is a program of thermal and optical studies of certain monomer and polymer liquid crystal phases and phase transitions designed to reveal the place held by these interesting phases within the broader scheme of condensed matter phases, wherein it appears they may fill previously unknown but now conspicuous gaps.