Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	GR/M38575/01
Title:	ALIGNMENT OF SMECTIC A LIQUID CRYSTALS IN MAGNETIC FIELDS
Principal Investigator:	Luckhurst, Professor GR
Other Investigators:	Seddon, Professor JM Emsley, Professor J
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:	ESRF
Department:	Sch of Chemistry
Organisation:	University of Southampton
Scheme:	Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts:	01 July 1999	Ends:	31 March 2003	Value (£):	256,592
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Chemical Structure
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	Electronics No relevance to Underpinning Sectors
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Summary on Grant Application Form
Deuterium NMR spectroscopy will be used to characterise how the directors in smectic A liquid crystals align in magnetic fields. The effect on the alignment process will be explored of the structure of the smectogen, the process of other phases, and of added solutes. A method will be developed for following the alignment process by X-ray scattering using synchrotron radiation, which will allow the spatial as well as the orientational ordering to be determined during the alignment by a magnetic field. The mechanisms by which smectic A phases can align in magnetic fields will be explored by molecular dynamics computer simulations. A continuum theory will be developed which will enable the alignment process to be related to the viscosities and elastic constants of the materials.
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Organisation Website:	http://www.soton.ac.uk