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Nucleation Induced Undulative Instability in Thin Films of nCB Liquid Crystals

Stefan Schlagowski·Karin Jacobs·Stephan Herminghaus
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Abstract

A surface instability is reported in thin nematic films of 5CB and 8CB, occurring near the nematic--isotropic phase transition. Although this instability leads to patterns reminiscent of spinodal dewetting, we show that it is actually based on a nucleation mechanism. Its characteristic wavelength does not depend markedly on film thickness, but strongly on the heating rate.

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Stefan Schlagowski, Karin Jacobs, Stephan Herminghaus. 2001-05-28. Nucleation Induced Undulative Instability in Thin Films of nCB Liquid Crystals. https://doi.org/10.1209/epl%2Fi2002-00492-x

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