This dissertation is comprised of three projects associated with cholesteric liquid crystals. Each project was motivated by observations in liquid crystalline deoxyribonucleic acid (lcDNA). The first project is a Monte Carlo study of defects in planar cholesterics. A microscopic model is used to obtain defects and defect energies. The second project is a microscopic model for the cholesteric to hexagonal transition observed in lcDNA. The model is solved in the mean-field and forms for the twist wave vector and its associated elastic modulus are obtained. The model is also used to obtain expressions for the elastic constants. The third project is a computational study of cholesteric liquid crystals under high magnetic fields. Differential equations obtained from the free energy of defects are solved numerically. The solutions obtained provide theoretical justification for structure observed in lcDNA under 9.4 Tesla fields. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-11, Section: B, page: 4916. / Major Professor: David H. Van Winkle. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1994.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_77296 |
| Contributors | Chatterjee, Arunava., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 156 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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