Abstract
The effect of nanoobjects, molecular objects, and α particles introduced into a liquid-crystal matrix that is placed in a dc electric field is studied theoretically and experimentally. The introduced particles form a charged defect, the radius of which is much larger than the particle sizes, in the orientational structure of the liquid crystal. This defect is easily observed under an optical microscope, and its image agrees with calculated data. It is suggested that this effect be used for detection and diagnostics of small objects and for design of ionizing radiation detectors. The phenomena revealed in this work can help in producing new charged-defect-saturated liquid-crystal structures formed by introducing nanoparticles in a medium or by irradiating a medium by ionizing radiation. A nonmechanical principle of transport of nanoparticles and their regular incorporation into the lattice is implemented. The essence of this principle is control of molecular orientations in a liquid crystal by quasi-stationary electric fields.
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Original Russian Text © S.I. Trashkeev, G.N. Grachev, G.A. Pozdnyakov, 2007, published in Zhurnal Tekhnicheskoĭ Fiziki, 2007, Vol. 77, No. 9, pp. 85–92.