Surface-induced ordering of a liquid crystal in the isotropic phase

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Abstract
A detailed account of a measurement of order parameter of a liquid crystal at the boundary by means of the wall‐induced pretransitional birefringence is given. Several surface treatments were studied including surfactants and evaporated films. Although all treatments produced good alignment in the nematic phase, the boundary order parameter (hence the strength of the aligning force) in the isotropic phase differed very much depending on the treatment, indicating the diverse nature of the alignment process.