| Abstract: | Experimental observation of disclinations of main-chain nematic polymers is reviewed. The geometry of disclination structure is discussed both from observations of schlieren texture and the theory of curvature elasticity for a two-dimensional case with equal splay and bend moduli. The effects of non-equal elastic moduli, the nature of the disclination core and the observation of inversion wails are briefly mentioned. Examples of experimental observation of disclinations of high topological strengths up to S=4 are given. The main experimental methods to map the director field around disclinations are 1) lamellar decoration, 2) band-texture decoration and 3) surface microcrack decoration. The methods are discussed and compared, and examples illustrated by electron micrographs or photomicrographs are presented. |
