Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Properties of Enantiomers and Optical Activity02:24

Properties of Enantiomers and Optical Activity

20.8K
It is essential to understand the difference between chiral and achiral interactions and the implications thereof in optical activity and their applications. Just as our feet, which are chiral, interact uniquely with chiral objects, such as a pair of shoes, but identically with achiral socks, enantiomers of a molecule exhibit different properties only when they interact with other chiral media. An example of a significant implication from this facet is the phenomenon known as optical activity,...
20.8K
Chirality02:25

Chirality

28.8K
Chirality is a term that describes the lack of mirror symmetry in an object. In other words, chiral objects cannot be superposed on their mirror images. For example, our feet are chiral, as the mirror image of the left foot, the right foot, cannot be superposed on the left foot.
Chiral objects exhibit a sense of handedness when they interact with another chiral object. For example, our left foot can only fit in the left shoe and not in the right shoe. Achiral objects — objects that have...
28.8K
Colloids03:22

Colloids

20.4K
Children at play often make suspensions such as mixtures of mud and water, flour and water, or a suspension of solid pigments in water known as tempera paint. These suspensions are heterogeneous mixtures composed of relatively large particles that are visible to the naked eye or can be seen with a magnifying glass. They are cloudy, and the suspended particles settle out after mixing. On the other hand, a solution is a homogeneous mixture in which no settling occurs and in which the dissolved...
20.4K
Conformations of Cyclohexane02:11

Conformations of Cyclohexane

14.9K
Cyclohexane does not exist in a planar form due to the high angle and torsional strain it would experience in the planar structure. Instead, it adopts non-planar chair and boat conformations.
The chair form is the most stable and derives its name from its resemblance to the “easy chair.” In the chair conformation, two carbon atoms are arranged out-of-plane — one above and one below, minimizing the torsional strain. In the chair form, the bond angle is very close to the ideal...
14.9K
Chirality in Nature02:30

Chirality in Nature

16.3K
Chirality is the most intriguing yet essential facet of nature, governing life’s biochemical processes and precision. It can be observed from a snail shell pattern in a macroscopic world to an amino acid, the minutest building block of life. Most of the snails around the world have right-coiled shells because of the intrinsic chirality in their genes. All the amino acids present in the human body exist in an enantiomerically pure state, except for glycine - the sole achiral amino acid.
16.3K
Contact Angle01:13

Contact Angle

17.8K
When a solid is dipped inside a liquid, the liquid surface becomes curved near the contact. For some solid–liquid interfaces, the liquid is pulled up along the solid, while for others, the liquid surface is convex or depressed near the solid surface. This phenomenon can be explained using the concept of cohesive and adhesive forces.
The adhesive force is the molecular force between molecules of different materials, that is, between the molecules of the solid and the liquid. The cohesive...
17.8K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Metallic microresonator spectral modes with inhomogeneously twisted nematic in magnetic field.

The European physical journal. E, Soft matter·2026
Same author

Orientational Structure and Electro-Optical Properties of Chiral Nematic Droplets with Conical Anchoring.

Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)·2025
Same author

Electrically Controlled Structures in Cholesteric Droplets with Planar Anchoring.

Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)·2025
Same author

Magnetization and Anisotropy of Magnetic Susceptibility of a Liquid Crystal Doped with Chlorophylls a, b and Carotenoids.

ACS omega·2025
Same author

Electrically Induced Structural Transformations of a Chiral Nematic under Tangential-Conical Boundary Conditions.

Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)·2023
Same author

Self-organized ensembles of nematic domains in magnetic and electric fields.

Physical review. E·2022

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 24, 2025

Orientational Transition in a Liquid Crystal Triggered by the Thermodynamic Growth of Interfacial Wetting Sheets
06:26

Orientational Transition in a Liquid Crystal Triggered by the Thermodynamic Growth of Interfacial Wetting Sheets

Published on: May 15, 2017

7.5K

Optical Textures and Orientational Structures in Cholesteric Droplets with Conical Boundary Conditions.

Anna P Gardymova1, Mikhail N Krakhalev1,2, Victor Ya Zyryanov2

  • 1Institute of Engineering Physics and Radio Electronics, Siberian Federal University, 660041 Krasnoyarsk, Russia.

Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
|April 16, 2020
PubMed
Summary

Cholesteric droplets exhibit distinct director configurations based on chirality. The study identifies specific structures, including bipolar and layer-like arrangements, linked to the relative chirality parameter N0.

Keywords:
cholesteric liquid crystalconical surface anchoringdropletoptical textureorientational structuretopological defect

More Related Videos

High-Contrast and Fast Photorheological Switching of a Twist-Bend Nematic Liquid Crystal
06:24

High-Contrast and Fast Photorheological Switching of a Twist-Bend Nematic Liquid Crystal

Published on: October 31, 2019

6.8K
Microtensiometer for Confocal Microscopy Visualization of Dynamic Interfaces
08:05

Microtensiometer for Confocal Microscopy Visualization of Dynamic Interfaces

Published on: September 9, 2022

2.7K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Dec 24, 2025

Orientational Transition in a Liquid Crystal Triggered by the Thermodynamic Growth of Interfacial Wetting Sheets
06:26

Orientational Transition in a Liquid Crystal Triggered by the Thermodynamic Growth of Interfacial Wetting Sheets

Published on: May 15, 2017

7.5K
High-Contrast and Fast Photorheological Switching of a Twist-Bend Nematic Liquid Crystal
06:24

High-Contrast and Fast Photorheological Switching of a Twist-Bend Nematic Liquid Crystal

Published on: October 31, 2019

6.8K
Microtensiometer for Confocal Microscopy Visualization of Dynamic Interfaces
08:05

Microtensiometer for Confocal Microscopy Visualization of Dynamic Interfaces

Published on: September 9, 2022

2.7K

Area of Science:

  • Materials Science
  • Soft Matter Physics
  • Liquid Crystals

Background:

  • Cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs) exhibit unique helical structures.
  • Understanding director configurations in confined geometries is crucial for CLC applications.
  • Polymer-dispersed liquid crystals (PDLCs) offer tunable optical properties.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the director configurations in cholesteric droplets within a polymer matrix.
  • To correlate these configurations with varying relative chirality parameters (N0).
  • To characterize the defect structures formed under conical boundary conditions.

Main Methods:

  • Polarizing microscopy was employed to visualize and identify director configurations.
  • The study focused on cholesteric droplets dispersed in a polymer matrix.
  • Analysis involved varying the relative chirality parameter (N0) of the droplets.

Main Results:

  • An axisymmetric twisted axial-bipolar configuration with a surface circular defect formed at N0 ≤ 2.9.
  • An intermediate configuration with a deformed circular defect was observed for 2.9 < N0 < 3.95.
  • A layer-like structure with a twisted surface defect loop appeared at N0 ≥ 3.95, with slightly distorted cholesteric layers.

Conclusions:

  • The relative chirality parameter (N0) dictates the director configuration in cholesteric droplets.
  • Distinct defect structures emerge at specific N0 ranges, influencing the overall molecular arrangement.
  • The study provides insights into the structure-property relationships of polymer-dispersed cholesteric liquid crystals.