Electroconvective flow propagation and defect formation in MBBA

Abstract

A new type of highly organized, large scale propagation of vortical flow has been observed in MBBA subject to a transverse electric field. This is a transient phenomenon associated with the transformation, occurring at elevated voltages, between electrically distorted homeotropic and planar states. The convective flows generate an array of linear defects which persist even after removal of the field.