Anisotropic particles in anisotropic fluids

Bob Leheny, Johns Hopkins University

Nematic liquid crystals, fluids comprised of rod-like molecules, are characterized by an alignment of the long axes of the molecules along a particular direction. Particles suspended in nematic fluids introduce distortions in this alignment with a corresponding cost in elastic energy, and the tendency to minimize this energy leads to forces on the particles. This talk will describe experiments to measure such forces on highly anisotropic, wire-shaped particles and to control these forces in order to manipulate the particles.

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