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Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Magnetic Tweezers for the Measurement of Twist and Torque
Published on: May 19, 2014
Polar anchoring strength of a tilted nematic: confirmation of the dual easy axis model
Giovanni Carbone1, Charles Rosenblatt
1Department of Physics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106-7079, USA.
Abstract:
The polar anchoring strength coefficient W and polar pretilt angle theta0 were measured simultaneously for the liquid crystal pentylcyanobiphenyl at a rubbed polyimide alignment layer that is ordinarily used for vertical alignment. It was found that W proportional theta(2)0 over the range 0 degrees < or =theta0 less or similar to 35 degrees . The results provide a confirmation of the dual easy axis model, wherein the liquid crystal director adopts an equilibrium orientation theta0 at the substrate that is determined by competition between a pair of preferred orientation directions.
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