Maltese crosses

Figure 4.12 Spherulites of poly( 1-propylene oxide) observed through crossed Polaroid filters by optical microscopy. See text for significance of Maltese cross and banding in these images. [From J. H. MaGill, Treatise on Materials Science and Technology, Vol. lOA, J. M. Schultz (Ed.), Academic, New York, 1977, with permission.]...

The individual spherulite shows up by the characteristic Maltese cross optical pattern under crossed Polaroids, although the Maltese cross is truncated in the event of impinging spherulites. 

Superimposed on the Maltese cross may be such additional optical features as the banding seen in Fig. 4.12. 

A larger number of smaller spherulites are produced at larger undercoolings, a situation suggesting nucleation control. Various details of the Maltese cross pattern, such as the presence or absence of banding, may also depend on the temperature of crystallization. 

The molecular chain folding is the origin of the Maltese cross which identifies the spherulite under crossed Polaroids. The Maltese cross is known to arise from a spherical array of birefringent particles through the following considerations ... 

This birefringence coupled with spherical geometry produces light extinction along the axis of each of the Polaroid filters, hence the 90° angle of the Maltese cross. 

If the Polaroid filters are held fixed and the sample rotated between them, the Maltese cross remains fixed because of the symmetry of the spherulite. 

Twisting of the lamellar ribbons along the radial direction is responsible for the banding superimposed on the Maltese cross in Fig. 4.12. From the spacing of the bands, the period of the twist can be calculated and is found to depend on crystallization conditions. 

Polypropylene molecules repeatedly fold upon themselves to form lamellae, the sizes of which ate a function of the crystallisa tion conditions. Higher degrees of order are obtained upon formation of crystalline aggregates, or spheruHtes. The presence of a central crystallisation nucleus from which the lamellae radiate is clearly evident in these stmctures. Observations using cross-polarized light illustrates the characteristic Maltese cross model (Fig. 2b). The optical and mechanical properties ate a function of the size and number of spheruHtes and can be modified by nucleating agents. Crystallinity can also be inferred from thermal analysis (28) and density measurements (29). 

The detection of Hquid crystal is based primarily on anisotropic optical properties. This means that a sample of this phase looks radiant when viewed against a light source placed between crossed polarizers. An isotropic solution is black under such conditions (Fig. 12). Optical microscopy may also detect the Hquid crystal in an emulsion. The Hquid crystal is conspicuous from its radiance in polarized light (Fig. 13). The stmcture of the Hquid crystalline phase is also most easily identified by optical microscopy. Lamellar Hquid crystals have a pattern of oil streaks and Maltese crosses (Fig. 14a), whereas ones with hexagonal arrays of cylinders give a different optical pattern (Fig. 14b). 

Fig. 14. A sample of a lamellar liquid crystal between crosses polarized in an optical microscope gives a pattern of "oily streaks" and Maltese crosses (a) while the Hquid crystal consisting of an array of cylinders shows the characteristic sectional pattern (b).

An optical microscope photograph taken at 200 X magnification using polarizing filters is shown in Fig. 21. The spherulites show a characteristic Maltese cross pattern produced by the interaction of the polarized light with the... 

By optical microscopy (OM), birefringent structures are observed in semicrystalline polymers, characterized by "Maltese-crosses" under crossed polars as seen in Figure 6. As these structures grow symmetrically in three dimensions... 

The morphology of the spherulites was in the form of a Maltese Cross , which was confirmed by the Avrami exponent value in the DSC study. The spherulite size of the binary blends was smaller than that of pure PET and PEN. 

Starch granules, when observed imder polarized light, exhibit an optical birefringence pattern known as a "Maltese cross" (Fig. 5.4), which implies a high degree of molecular order within the granule (Greenwood, 1979). 

Maltese cross (Blanshard, 1979). The crystallinity of starch is caused essentially by amylopectin pol)Tner interactions (Banks and Greenwood, 1975 Biliaderis, 1998 Donald, 2004 Hizukuri, 1996). An illustration of currently accepted starch granule structure is given in Fig. 5.5. It is believed that the outer branches of amylopectin molecules interact to arrange themselves into "crystallites" forming crystalline lamellae within the granule (Fig. 5.5 Tester et al., 2004). A small number of amylose polymers may also interact with amylopectin crystallites. This hypothetical structure has been derived based on the cluster model of amylopectin (Hizukuri, 1986 Robin et ah, 1974 Fig. 5.1). 

Hexagonal mesophases can be recognized by their typical fan-shape texture (Fig. 7a). Lamellar mesophases typically show oily streaks with inserted maltese crosses (Fig. 7b). The latter are due to defects, called confocal domains, that arise from a concentric rearrangement of plane layers. In some lamellar mesophases these defects prevail. Hence no oily streaks occur but maltese crosses are the dominant texture (Fig. 7c). 

A cleverly arranged system of lances (flame wands whose form and function are detailed in the following chapter) provides a pattern of fire depicting the classical Maltese Cross (Figure 9.4) whilst further portfires create a diamond pattern on pivoting of the segments within the Cross (Figure 9.5). 

MALTESE WHEEL A firework wheel which, when lit, shows the pattern of the Maltese Cross and other visual effects. 

Figure 6.103 Schematic of Maltese cross produced by spherulites in crosspolarized filters. Reprinted, by permission, from Strobl, G., The Physics of Polymers, 2nd ed., p. 146. Copyright 1997 Springer-Verlag.

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