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Unique approach to measuring temperature variation of surface tension in smectic liquid crystals
We have measured the temperature variation of surface tension, σ, in freestanding films of three liquid-crystal compounds. To do so, we have constructed a curvature-pressure tensiometer that uses a feedback loop to hold constant the curvature of a film while the temperature of the system is smoothly...
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Published in: | Review of scientific instruments 2003-12, Vol.74 (12), p.5151-5155 |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , |
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Citations: | Items that this one cites Items that cite this one |
Online Access: | Get full text |
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Summary: | We have measured the temperature variation of surface tension, σ, in freestanding films of three liquid-crystal compounds. To do so, we have constructed a curvature-pressure tensiometer that uses a feedback loop to hold constant the curvature of a film while the temperature of the system is smoothly ramped. The apparatus enables us to obtain the temperature variation of σ in a continuous manner with resolution in σ of ∼0.2%. We interpret reproducible features of our data in terms of phase transitions. |
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ISSN: | 0034-6748 1089-7623 |
DOI: | 10.1063/1.1623629 |