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Abstract
Theoretical and experimental studies are made of small angle light scattering (SALS) from the nematic droplets with a bipolar director configuration. Serial expressions for the scattered amplitudes from a single bipolar anisotropic sphere such as a bipolar nematic droplet are obtained using Rayleigh-Gans (RG) theory. Analytical solutions are also derived under reasonable approximations. All of the formulae are suitable for an arbitrary orientation of the droplet symmetry axis. Series of calculated Hv and Vv scattering patterns for the bipolar nematic droplets with typical orientations of droplet axes are presented. Some theoretical patterns have been confirmed in experiment with polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) films. As a result, SALS is proven useful to distinguish the director configurations of nematic droplets, and further to discriminate the orientations of the droplet axes. Moreover, the average size of the bipolar nematic droplets can be estimated by Hv scattering with the formulae given in this paper, and Vv scattering pattern can serve to evaluate the relative polarizabilities of PDLC films between anisotropic entities and isotropic mediums. Some inprecise interpretations for scattering photographs in literature are pointed out and clarified.