Elastic anisotropy effects on the electrical responses of a thin sample of nematic liquid crystal.

Gomes, O A; Yednak, C A R; Ribeiro de Almeida, R R; Teixeira-Souza, R T; Evangelista, L R · Phys Rev E · 2017

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

The electrical responses of a nematic liquid crystal cell are investigated by means of the elastic continuum theory. The nematic medium is considered as a parallel circuit of a resistance and a capacitance and the electric current profile across the sample is determined as a function of the elastic constants. In the reorientation process of the nematic director, the resistance and capacitance of the sample are determined by taking into account the elastic anisotropy. A nonmonotonic profile for the current is observed in which a minimum value of the current may be used to estimate the elastic constants values. This scenario suggests a theoretical method to determine the values of the bulk elastic constants in a single planar aligned cell just by changing the direction of applied electrical field and measuring the resulting electrical current.