Light Induced Thermocapillary Motion in Nematic Liquid Crystals

Abstract

Surface tension gradients can cause mass transfer (Marangoni effect). We investigated thermocapillary in homeotropic oriented nematic liquid crystals. The heating process was performed with a Gaussian laser profile. The upper surface of the cell is free and the bottom has hard anchoring conditions. Upon assuming the fluid is incompressible, the hydrodynamic equations that explain the system shifts can be derived from the balance of torques, Navier-Stokes and heat equation. The heat equation is written for anisotropic area. We investigated the problem of the existence of vertical magnetic field. We found that the magnetic field can affect the system.

Keywords:

• Hydrodynamic
• liquid crystal
• marangoni effect
• surface effect