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Abstract
According to the theory of Frenkel, the coalescence kinetics of two identical touching droplets is governed by their surface energy, viscosity and size. We show that the Frenkel relation can be used to determine γNI, the nematic/isotropic interfacial energy, from observations of coalescing nematic droplets in an isotropic matrix. By applying the Frenkel theory to the data of Kahlweit and Ostner for the coalescence of PAP, we obtain γNI ≈ 0.014 dynes/cm. This value is in much better agreement with other published interfacial energies than the result of the original Rayleigh-Webb analysis of Kahlweit and Ostner, who found an approximate lower limit of 5×10−4 dyne/cm for γNI.