Calorimetric Study of Frustrated Smectic Liquid Crystals
{'Code': '03070007', 'Directorate': {'LongName': 'Direct For Mathematical & Physical Scien'}, 'Division': {'LongName': 'Division Of Materials Research'}}
{'SignBlockName': 'David Nelson'}
Professor Garland proposes to carry out high-resolution                         calorimetric measurements on a variety of polar liquid crystal                  molecules containing long aromatic cores and on binary mixtures                 of such molecules.  There are two competing order parameters in                 these systems, and in general they exhibit smectic fluctuations                 in the nematic phase at two characteristic wavevectors that are                 incommensurate.  Such frustrated compounds can form a wide                      variety of ordered smectic-A and analogous smectic-C phases.                    Thus there are many interesting nematic-smecatic transitions and                smectic-smectic transitions involving two different smectic-A                   phases or a smectic-A and a smectic-C phase.                                                                                                                    An automated, computer-controlled ac microcalorimeter will                      provide high resolution heat capacity data for second-order phase               transitions, special critical and bicritical points, and even                   weakly first-order transitions.  Analysis of such data allows one               to characaterize the critical energy fluctuations associated with               smectic ordering.  The results will test the validity of current                theory and should stimulate new and more realistic theoretical                  models.
{'FirstName': 'Carl', 'LastName': 'Garland', 'EmailAddress': None, 'StartDate': '06/01/1987', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}
{'Name': 'Massachusetts Institute of Technology', 'CityName': 'Cambridge', 'ZipCode': '021394301', 'PhoneNumber': '6172531000', 'StreetAddress': '77 MASSACHUSETTS AVE', 'CountryName': 'United States', 'StateName': 'Massachusetts', 'StateCode': 'MA'}
{'Code': '1762', 'Text': 'SOLID STATE & MATERIALS CHEMIS'}
{'url': 'https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/download?DownloadFileName=1987&All=true', 'xml': '8702052.xml'}