Measurements of optical anisotropy of a calamitic lyotropic liquid crystal

Abstract

Abstract Optical birefringence measurements for a calamitic lyotropic liquid crystal containing sodium lauryl sulphate/decanol/water are presented. A value of the order of 10 ‐3 was obtained, much smaller than that of thermotropic liquid crystals. The order parameter temperature dependence is evaluated using an extrapolating method and taking into accounts the influence of the micelle shape. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)