Plateau borders of smectic liquid crystalline films |
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Authors: | Torsten Trittel Ruth Aldred Ralf Stannarius |
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Affiliation: | 1. Institut für Experimentelle Physik, Otto-von-Guericke Universit?t , D-39106 Magdeburg , Germany torsten.trittel@student.uni-magdeburg.de;3. School of Physics, University of Exeter , Exeter , EX4 4QL , United Kingdom;4. Institut für Experimentelle Physik, Otto-von-Guericke Universit?t , D-39106 Magdeburg , Germany |
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Abstract: | We investigate the geometrical properties of Plateau borders in an arrangement of connected smectic A free standing films. The geometry is chosen such that a circular Plateau border surrounds a planar smectic film and connects it with two smectic catenoids. It is demonstrated that, similar to soap films, the smectic film geometry can be described by a negative line tension of the circular contact region. Thus, the equilibrium angle between the films depends upon the liquid content in this region, and with increasing liquid content, deviations from Plateau's rule are observed. The experimental results are qualitatively comparable to soap films. A possible origin of slight quantitative differences is discussed. |
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Keywords: | foams Plateau border Plateau's rules decoration lemma thin films smectic liquid crystals |
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