Theoretical and experimental study of the static behaviour of a nematic liquid crystal near the Freedericksz transition

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Abstract
We discuss the static distortion of an homeotropic nematic film in the neighbourhood of the Freedericksz transition as a function of the strength and of the direction of the magnetic field. We show that an interferometric technique at oblique incidence allows the orthogonality between the magnetic field and the liquid crystal director to be checked with an accuracy of the order of 0.01 degrees, and allows this source of error in the measurements of the critical field to be practically eliminated