Diffusion of testing particles in turbulent nematic liquid crystals

Summary We report on the diffusive motion of dielectric testing particles floating in a turbulent nematic fluid under the effect of an external oscillating electric field. The particle is viewed as a tracer of the underlying turbulence. We calculate the diffusion coefficients and the probability distribution of the particle displacements, thus showing that the motion of the particle is a classical Brownian diffusion. Paper presented at the I International Conference on Scaling Concepts and Complex Fluids, Copanello, Italy, July 4–8, 1994.