| Issue |
EPL
Volume 115, Number 1, July 2016
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Article Number | 16002 | |
| Number of page(s) | 6 | |
| Section | Condensed Matter: Structural, Mechanical and Thermal Properties | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1209/0295-5075/115/16002 | |
| Published online | 09 August 2016 | |
Asymmetric motion of bubble in nematic liquid crystal induced by symmetry-broken evaporation
1 Department of Physics, Chungnam National University - 99 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34134 Korea
2 Bogolyubov Institute for Theoretical Physics, National Academy of Science of Ukraine - Metrologichna St-14b, Kyiv 03680, Ukraine
(b) jxk97@cnu.ac.kr (corresponding author)
Received: 29 May 2016
Accepted: 17 July 2016
The size of air bubbles in nematic liquid crystals can be continuously decreased through the absorption of air molecules into the host liquid crystal. A bubble and its accompanying hyperbolic hedgehog point defect undergo a continuous asymmetric motion, while the bubble decreases in size. In this study, a mechanism is proposed to theoretically explain both the motion of the air bubble and the point defect observed experimentally. Anisotropic evaporation of air molecules may occur because of the symmetry breaking of the director configuration near the point defect. The motion of the center of the air bubble to the hyperbolic hedgehog point defect is induced by the anisotropic force due to evaporation of air molecules and Stokes drag force.
PACS: 61.30.Jf – Defects in liquid crystals / 66.10.C- – Diffusion and thermal diffusion / 47.55.dd – Bubble dynamics
© EPLA, 2016
Current usage metrics show cumulative count of Article Views (full-text article views including HTML views, PDF and ePub downloads, according to the available data) and Abstracts Views on Vision4Press platform.
Data correspond to usage on the plateform after 2015. The current usage metrics is available 48-96 hours after online publication and is updated daily on week days.
Initial download of the metrics may take a while.