Electrically induced undulations and their competition with electrically induced convection in cholesteric liquid crystals

Journal Article · Thu Oct 15 00:00:00 EDT 1987 · Phys. Rev. A; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.36.4056· OSTI ID:5985618

Pleiner, H; Brand, H R

We show that cholesteric liquid crystals with a sufficiently short pitch, when put in an electric field, can exhibit undulations, the analog of mechanical undulations or of thermal undulations obtained when an external pressure or a temperature gradient is applied, respectively. As the pitch is increased a competition between the electric-field-induced undulations and the electrohydrodynamic instability arises. We give numerical estimates for both instabilities in this system, which represents another example of a competition between a constrained pattern-forming equilibrium system (electric-field-induced undulations) and a nonequilibrium (electrohydrodynamic) instability.

• Research Organization: Department of Physics, University of Colorado, P.O. Box 390, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0390
• OSTI ID: 5985618
• Journal Information: Phys. Rev. A; (United States), Vol. 36:8
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
LIQUID CRYSTALS
INSTABILITY
CHOLESTEROL
CONVECTIVE INSTABILITIES
ELECTRIC FIELDS
EVALUATION
HYDROXY COMPOUNDS
TEMPERATURE EFFECTS
CRYSTALS
FLUIDS
LIQUIDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PLASMA INSTABILITY
STEROIDS
STEROLS
360603* - Materials- Properties