Carr-Helfrich effect

Although the dominant means to create a space-charge field within the interference pattern in liquid crystals is given by Eq. (2), it has been shown that there are other mechanisms to create a space-charge field. One is derived from the conductivity anisotropy and is known as the Carr-Helfrich effect [43,49] ... 

E. Kochowska, S. Nemeth, G. Pelzl and A. Buka, Electroconvection with and without the Carr-Helfrich effect in a series of nematic liquid crystals, Phys. Rev. E 70(1), 011711/1-9, (2004). doi 10.1103/PhysRevE.70.011711... 

Independently, a highly interesting problem recently revived is that of the alignment of molecules in liquid crystals due to externally applied static and alternating electric fidds. The problem was first approached by Jezewski and Kast, and was developed by Carr, Helfrich, Wysocki et al. and many others, studying various aspects, such as dielectric loss in electric fields and anomalous alignment in the smectic phase and domains, the effect of an electric field on the temperature of mesomorphic-isomorphic phase tranritions of liquid crystals, electric... 

Electric field effects are more complicated because of conduction. The Carr-Helfrich instability, which occurs in nematics of negative dielectric anisotropy (see 3.10.2), may be expected to take place in this case too, only the bend and twist distortions are now coupled. Moreover, the fluid motion along z can occur only by the process of permeation ( 4.5.1). 

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