Abstract
Abstract Up to now there are three different phenomenological concepts suitable to describe liquid crystals: The first one is the well known Ericksen-Leslie theory4 whose balance equations are formulated by use of a macroscopic director for needleshaped molecules with totally relaxed internal degrees of freedom. This macroscopic director is not well defined microscopically: It can not be identified with the orientation of a single molecule because the orientation of the molecules is statistically distributed. Therefore we need a distribution function for describing the orientation in the fluid, or we restrict ourselves to the case of total alignment. In that case the macroscopic director of the Ericksen-Leslie theory coincides with the common alignment of all molecules.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
