Liquid crystallites, individual

Complicated thread structure is present both with and without the electric field and appears to be the boundaries of individual liquid crystallites. Domain pattern appears only in an electric field and serves as an indicator of the orientation of the nematic axes of the crystallites. Unpolarized light... 

Optically, a nematic phase can be uniaxial or biaxial. The latter is formed by elongated lath-like molecules. Conventional nematic liquid crystals formed by rod-like molecules constitute a uniaxial medium with nonpolar symmetry. The constituent molecules rotate (freely or hindered) around both their short and long axes. Nonoriented samples are analogous in some measure to polycrystalline powders they consist of individual (liquid) crystallites, each of which has as a definite feature, a directed optical axis, which... 

In summary, it can be concluded that there are three major regions that characterize a semicrystalline polymer. There are the crystalline, the interfacial, and the interlamellar or liquid-like regions. In each region there is a different chain conformation. Many of the individual chains traverse all three regions. The crystalline region represents the three-dimensional ordered structure with the typical lamellar-like habit. The levels of imperfection within the crystallites are no different in concentration and type from those found in crystals formed by similar low molecular weight compounds. The crystallite, or core, thickness can be related to the nucleation requirements. However, the control by nucleation of the process of... 

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