Abstract
We demonstrate the suitability of polarization microscopy to study the recently discovered(parallel) nematic–(perpendicular) nematic phase separation. This novel type ofphase transition is induced by applying an external magnetic field to a nematicliquid crystal of boardlike colloidal goethite and is due to an interplay betweenthe intrinsic magnetic properties of goethite and the collective effect of liquidcrystal formation. It is shown that the intense ochre colour of goethite does notpreclude the use of polarization microscopy and interference colours, and thatdichroism can give valuable qualitative information on the nature of the phases,their anchoring and their sedimentation and order parameter profiles. We alsoapply these techniques to study ‘nematic–nematic tactoids’: nematic dropletssedimenting within a nematic medium with mutually perpendicular orientations.
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