We report a quasielastic light scattering measurement of the isotropic-nematic phase transition of a liquid crystal in silica gel. The normalized intensity autocorrelation function, G₂(t), which samples the order-parameter fluctuations, is consistent with the form G₂(x)~1(1+x²), where x=lntlnτ. The relaxation time, τ, diverges near a temperature T* and can be quantitatively described by the Vogel-Fulcher law, T=τ₀ exp[const/(T-T*)]. The measurements suggest that the silica gel imposes a weak random anisotropy on the system, with the bulk nematic phase being replaced by a "glassy" state. However, hysteresis, normally associated with random-"field" behavior, is absent.
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Wu et al. (1992) studied this question.
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