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We have investigated the orientational order in a re-entrant nematic and its preceding phases using steroidal and alkyl nitroxide spin probes. The order parameter for the steroidal spin probe in the re-entrant nematic phase is found to be an extension of its value in the preceding smectic A phase. In contrast the gradient of the order parameter for the alkyl spin probe exhibits a marked discontinuity at the smectic A - re-entrant nematic transition.
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Luckhurst et al. (1980) studied this question.
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