Temperature Dependence of the Anisotropy of Turbidity and Elastic Constants of Nematic Liquid Crystal Mixture E7

The three principal elastic constants, K 11, K 11, and K 33, of the eutectic nematic liquid crystal mixture E7 have been determined as a function of temperature by following changes in the anisotropy of turbidity of a magnetically aligned specimen. The agreement with values of K 22 obtained by a previous capacitance-voltage method is excellent, whereas the values of K 11 and K 33 derived from the absorption coefficients are systematically higher.