Studies of Liquid Crystals

该项目涉及分子复杂液晶，包括向列聚合物液晶，如聚-聚-苄基谷氨酸（PBG），刚性棒病毒液晶（烟草花叶病毒（TMV）），以及某些高度延长的丝状噬菌体（fd和m13）。所有这些材料都显示出部分有序的流体相，其力学、磁性、结构、光学和统计力学性质都是我们感兴趣的。研究集中在微观和宏观两方面的新现象和新系统。结构研究有助于确定相图，并从分子性质的角度理解这些图。宏观非线性现象正在被研究，这些结果对理解其他系统中的非线性过程具有启示意义。这样的研究在历史上导致了重要的实际应用。新颖的实验包括结合使用磁场和旋转运动来诱导新的有序相，以及剪切诱导向列有序作为动态相变的一个例子。

This project deals with molecularly complex liquid crystals, including nematic polymer liquid crystals such as poly-y-benzyl glutamate (PBG), rigid rod viral liquid crystals (tobacco mosaic virus (TMV)), and certain highly prolate filamentous bacteriophages (fd and m13). All of these materials display partially ordered fluid phases, whose mechanical, magnetic, structural, optical and statistical mechanical properties are of interest. The research concentrates on new phenomena and new systems, at both the microscopic and macroscopic levels. The structural studies aid in determining phase diagrams, and understanding these diagrams in terms of molecular properties. Macroscopic nonlinear phenomena are being studied and these results have implications for the understanding of nonlinear processes in other systems. Such investigations have historically led to important practical applications. Novel experiments include combined use of magnetic fields and rotational motion to induce new ordered phases, as well as shear induced nematic ordering as an example of a dynamic phase transition.