An anomalous increase is observed in the Fr\'eedericksz critical field in a very thin, homeotropically aligned liquid-crystal cell near the second-order nematic-smectic-A phase transition. The anomaly is analyzed in terms of smectic layering induced at the two surfaces of the cell, decreasing the effective thickness of the nematic region and thereby increasing the effective critical field.
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Charles Rosenblatt (1984) studied this question.
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