Unusual Director Configurations and Diffusion Driven by Liquid Crystal Elastic Anisotropy

Abstract

I will describe experiments that probe effects of twist elastic anisotropy in lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals (LCLCs) on the director configurations in cylinders/spheres and on particle diffusion. Time permitting, I will also describe measurements of LCLC “coffee rings” and of twist fluctuations in suspended spherical LC droplets.