Phase transition and elastic constants of 4-n-octyl-4′-cyanobiphenyl (8CB) obtained using the light-scattering anisotropy of turbidity

A light-scattering technique was used to study the anisotropy of turbidity and the three elastic constants K 1, K 2 and K 3 of 8CB as a function of temperature and sample thickness. The turbidity was measured in the nematic and schematic A phases at sample thicknesses l of 0.02, 0.04, 0.1 and 0.2 cm. The effect of the smectic-like (cybotactic nematic) order was observed near the smectic A-nematic phase transition. Owing to the surface-enhanced cybotactic order, evaluation of the elastic constants and order parameter was possible only from the turbidity data at l = 0.2 cm. From the divergence of both K 2 and K 3 near TS A N we estimated an average critical exponent value v of 0.65, suggesting that SA-N in 8CB is a second-order phase transition. The magnetic-field quenching of director fluctuations showed observed effects on the order of magnitude of the temperature dependence of the turbidities, elastic constants and order parameter.