Levitation, lift, and bidirectional motion of colloidal particles in an electrically driven nematic liquid crystal

We study electric-field-induced dynamics of colloids in a nematic cell, experimentally and by computer simulations. Solid particles in the nematic bulk create director distortions of dipolar type. Elastic repulsion from the walls keeps the particles in the middle of cell. The ac electric field reori...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2007-09, Vol.99 (12), p.127802-127802, Article 127802
Main Authors: Pishnyak, O P, Tang, S, Kelly, J R, Shiyanovskii, S V, Lavrentovich, O D
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:We study electric-field-induced dynamics of colloids in a nematic cell, experimentally and by computer simulations. Solid particles in the nematic bulk create director distortions of dipolar type. Elastic repulsion from the walls keeps the particles in the middle of cell. The ac electric field reorients the dipoles and lifts them to top or bottom, depending on dipole orientation. Once near the walls, the colloids are carried along two antiparallel horizontal directions by nematic backflow. Computer simulations of the backflow agree with the experiment.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/physrevlett.99.127802