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

Imperfections in Crystal Structure: Point, Line and Plane Defects01:25

Imperfections in Crystal Structure: Point, Line and Plane Defects

A perfect crystal, in theory, has a uniform structure with the same unit cell and lattice points throughout. However, any deviation from this periodic arrangement is known as an imperfection or defect. These defects can be categorized into three types: point, line, and plane defects.Point defects occur when there is a deviation from the ideal due to missing atoms, displaced atoms, or additional atoms. These imperfections might occur due to imperfect packing during crystallization or because of...
Imperfections in Crystal Structure: Stoichiometric Point Defects01:26

Imperfections in Crystal Structure: Stoichiometric Point Defects

Schottky defects arise when some lattice points in a crystal, such as those in NaCl, remain unoccupied, creating lattice vacancies without disturbing the overall electrical neutrality of the crystal. This defect is common in ionic crystals where the positive and negative ions are similar in size, as seen in sodium chloride and cesium chloride. The presence of Schottky defects enables the crystal to conduct electricity to a small extent through an ionic mechanism. Electric fields cause nearby...
Imperfections in Crystal Structure: Non-Stoichiometric Defects01:29

Imperfections in Crystal Structure: Non-Stoichiometric Defects

Non-stoichiometric defects refer to a type of defect in the crystal structure of a compound where the ratio of its constituent elements deviates from the ideal stoichiometric ratio. There are two main types of non-stoichiometric defects: metal excess defects and metal deficiency defects.Metal excess defects occur when there is a slight surplus of metal ions than what is required by the stoichiometric ratio of the compound. For example, heating a sodium chloride crystal in sodium vapor results...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Lipid-phase-modulated interactions of gold nanoparticles with supported vesicular and planar membranes.

Colloids and surfaces. B, Biointerfaces·2026
Same author

From biting to engulfment: curvature-actin coupling controls phagocytosis of soft, deformable targets.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

From biting to engulfment: curvature-actin coupling controls phagocytosis of soft, deformable targets.

ArXiv·2026
Same author

Micro- and macroscopic aspects of prenematic fluctuations in nanoparticles-doped liquid crystals.

Physical review. E·2026
Same author

Spatiotemporal analysis of Escherichia coli membrane permeabilization and uptake kinetics induced by a single microbubble cavitation event.

Scientific reports·2025
Same author

Coupling anisotropic curvature and nematic order: mechanisms of membrane shape remodeling.

Soft matter·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Scanning SQUID Study of Vortex Manipulation by Local Contact
06:53

Scanning SQUID Study of Vortex Manipulation by Local Contact

Published on: February 1, 2017

6.9K

Spatial manipulation of topological defects in nematic shells.

Luka Mesarec1, Aleš Iglič2, Samo Kralj3,4

  • 1Laboratory of Physics, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia. luka.mesarec@fe.uni-lj.si.

The European Physical Journal. E, Soft Matter
|July 25, 2022
PubMed
Summary

Manipulating topological defects (TDs) in liquid crystals (LCs) is influenced by local distortions. Curved LC films show that Gaussian curvature variations strongly affect TD positions, "gluing" them to specific curvature regions.

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

6.5K
Forming, Confining, and Observing Microtubule-Based Active Nematics
08:37

Forming, Confining, and Observing Microtubule-Based Active Nematics

Published on: January 13, 2023

2.8K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Scanning SQUID Study of Vortex Manipulation by Local Contact
06:53

Scanning SQUID Study of Vortex Manipulation by Local Contact

Published on: February 1, 2017

6.9K
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

6.5K
Forming, Confining, and Observing Microtubule-Based Active Nematics
08:37

Forming, Confining, and Observing Microtubule-Based Active Nematics

Published on: January 13, 2023

2.8K

Area of Science:

  • Soft Matter Physics
  • Materials Science
  • Liquid Crystal Physics

Background:

  • Topological defects (TDs) in liquid crystals (LCs) can be experimentally controlled via local order distortion.
  • Techniques like optical tweezers induce local melting to manipulate TD positions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To numerically investigate nematic ordering profiles and topological defect configurations in thin nematic liquid crystalline shells.
  • To understand the impact of imposed local distortions on TD behavior within curved LC films.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized a mesoscopic approach to model LC shells.
  • Described shell geometry and LC orientational order using surface curvature and the nematic order parameter tensor.
  • Focused on LC shells with spherical topology for illustration.

Main Results:

  • Demonstrated that spatial variations in local Gaussian curvature significantly affect the manipulation of TDs in curved LC films.
  • Showed that increasing shell prolateness, leading to inhomogeneous Gaussian curvature, results in TDs being strongly attracted to regions of high Gaussian curvature.
  • Observed a
  • gluing
  • effect of TDs to local Gaussian curvature.

Conclusions:

  • Local Gaussian curvature with strong spatial variations plays a critical role in controlling topological defects in curved liquid crystal films.
  • The interplay between shell geometry and nematic order dictates defect behavior, offering new avenues for defect manipulation.