Abstract
We report a light-scattering study of the development of bond-orientational (BO) order in a thick, monodomain, freely suspended film. Our static results are consistent with a three-dimensional Landau free energy, and show an approximately linear increase of the BO elastic constant through the ordered phase. Our dynamic results show a hydrodynamic mode, which exhibits critical slowing down at the liquid to BO phase transition, and a nonhydrodynamic mode which is associated with the BO phase.