The Orientational Fluctuations in the Re-Orientation Process of a Nematic Liquid Crystal

Abstract

The field-induced molecular reorientation of liquid crystals is usually described by the Frank-Oseen equation with several simplifying assumptions. Among them the “classical” theory ignores thermal fluctuations in the liquid crystal structure. As a consequence, the static Frank-Oseen equation may give inconsistent results in some details of the reorientation process. This work is aimed to include formally the orientational fluctuations in the field-induced reorientation process in nematics. The simplified approach presented here is a “zero-order” approximation of the problem, nevertheless even in this form it allows for correct physical interpretation of the process for fields up to the threshold.

Keywords:

• Liquid crystals
• molecular reorientation
• orientational fluctuations

Acknowledgment

This work was done under the grant from Warsaw University of Technology, No. 503 R 1050 0034 009.