Wien effect in CuCl,CuBr and CuI superionic crystals and their melts

The dependence of conductivity of copper (I) halides (CuCl, CuBr, and CuI) and their melts on the electric field strength is studied. Conductivity of superconducting phases and their melts reaches limiting high-voltage values exceeding the usual values by up to 100% even at ∼0.5 MV/m.     

Electro- and magneto-optical switching of defect modes in one- dimensional photonic crystals

The transmission spectra of polarized light waves in a photonic crystal/liquid crystal (PC/LC) cell placed between crossed polarizers and controlled by an electric or magnetic field have been studied experimentally and theoretically. Electro- and magneto-optical switching based on the interference of polarized defect modes has been demonstrated. The transmission spectra of the PC/LC cell have been calculated as a function of the voltage applied to the LC layer and the magnetic field strength. The results of the calculations agree well with the experimental data.     

Study of low-frequency polarized spectra of a mixed para-dibromobenzene-para-bromochlorobenzene crystal

Polarization studies of low-frequency Raman spectra of a mixed (1: 1) para-dibromobenzene-para-bromochlorobenzene crystal are performed. The spectrum of the mixed crystal is similar to the spectra of its components and also exhibits a number of additional low-intensity lines. The experimental results are interpreted using calculations of mixed crystals by the methods of atom-atom potentials and of Dean. It is found that the experimental results better agree with calculations when the disordered distribution of para-bromochlorobenzene molecules over para-positions is taken into account     

Non-monotonic temperature dependence of the alignment of a nematic mixture on a ferroelectric substrate

Polarization optic techniques have been applied to study specific features of the anisotropic interaction between a dye-doped eutectic mixture of nematic liquid crystals p-methoxybenzylidene-p-n-butylaniline and p-ethoxybenzylidene-p-n-butylaniline and a polar surface of a ferroelectric triglycine sulphate crystal over the temperature range including the substrate Curie point T _c. It has been found that the temperature-induced structural changes in the nematic layer in the vicinity of T _c are related to the changes in the orientational part of the tensor order parameter Q_ik . The temperature dependence of the director angle θ¯, averaged over the nematic layer, has been obtained from the effective dichroism values of solute absorption. The experimental data were interpreted using the model, in which the anisotropic part of the surface energy has two terms with orthogonal easy axes.     

Temperature-induced orientational transition of nematics on the surface of a ferroelectric crystal

A temperature-induced orientational transition is investigated in a mixture of nematic liquid crystals on the surface of a cleavage of a ferroelectric triglycine sulfate crystal. The transition has been observed by the variation of the polarized absorbance components of a dye introduced into the nematic matrix with increasing temperature. The reorientation of molecules in the liquid crystal volume confined by solid walls is due to competition between dispersion and polar forces at the surface and the decrease in the electric field of the substrate up to its complete disappearance at the ferroelectric Curie point.     

Mechanism of Fatigue-Crack Growth under Compressive External Stresses

A specimen with a crack shaped like a thin long defect with parallel edges and a rounded tip of finite radius is considered. When the specimen is subjected to compressive cyclic loads, the stresses in zones adjacent to the crack tip vary according to a sign-variable cycle because of plastic strains occurring at the crack tip. This can cause fatigue-crack growth. Results of numerical simulations and experimental data support the possibility of fatigue-crack growth in the field of compressive external stresses. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 46, No. 6, pp. 108–115, November–December, 2005.