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In the last 20 years the study of nonlinear nonequilibrium
phenomena in spa tially extended systems, with particular emphasis
on pattern-forming phenomena, has been one of the very active areas
in physics, exhibiting interesting ramifi cations into other
sciences. During this time the study of the "classic" systems, like
Rayleigh-Benard convection and Taylor vortex flow in simple fluids,
has also been supplemented by the study of more complex systems.
Here liquid crystals have played, and are still playing, a major
role. One might say that liquid crystals provide just the right
amount and right kind of complexity. They are full of non
linearities and give rise to new symmetry classes, which are
sometimes actually simpler to deal with qualitatively, but they
still allow a quantitative description of experiments in many
cases. In fact one of the attractions of the field is the close
contact between experimentalists and theorists. Hydrodynamic
instabilities in liquid crystals had already experienced a period
of intense study in the late 1960s and early 1970s, but at that
time neither the ex perimental and theoretical tools nor the
concepts had been developed sufficiently far to address the
questions that have since been found to be of particular interest.
The renewed interest is also evidenced by the fact that a new
series of workshops has evolved. The first one took place in 1989
in Bayreuth and united participants from almost all groups working
in pattern formation in liquid crystals."
In the last 20 years the study of nonlinear nonequilibrium
phenomena in spa tially extended systems, with particular emphasis
on pattern-forming phenomena, has been one of the very active areas
in physics, exhibiting interesting ramifi cations into other
sciences. During this time the study of the "classic" systems, like
Rayleigh-Benard convection and Taylor vortex flow in simple fluids,
has also been supplemented by the study of more complex systems.
Here liquid crystals have played, and are still playing, a major
role. One might say that liquid crystals provide just the right
amount and right kind of complexity. They are full of non
linearities and give rise to new symmetry classes, which are
sometimes actually simpler to deal with qualitatively, but they
still allow a quantitative description of experiments in many
cases. In fact one of the attractions of the field is the close
contact between experimentalists and theorists. Hydrodynamic
instabilities in liquid crystals had already experienced a period
of intense study in the late 1960s and early 1970s, but at that
time neither the ex perimental and theoretical tools nor the
concepts had been developed sufficiently far to address the
questions that have since been found to be of particular interest.
The renewed interest is also evidenced by the fact that a new
series of workshops has evolved. The first one took place in 1989
in Bayreuth and united participants from almost all groups working
in pattern formation in liquid crystals."
The book intends to give a state-of-the-art overview of
flexoelectricity, a linear physical coupling between mechanical
(orientational) deformations and electric polarization, which is
specific to systems with orientational order, such as liquid
crystals.Chapters written by experts in the field shed light on
theoretical as well as experimental aspects of research carried out
since the discovery of flexoelectricity. Besides a common
macroscopic (continuum) description the microscopic theory of
flexoelectricity is also addressed. Electro-optic effects due to or
modified by flexoelectricity as well as various (direct and
indirect) measurement methods are discussed. Special emphasis is
given to the role of flexoelectricity in pattern-forming
instabilities.While the main focus of the book lies in
flexoelectricity in nematic liquid crystals, peculiarities of other
mesophases (bent-core systems, cholesterics, and smectics) are also
reviewed. Flexoelectricity has relevance to biological (living)
systems and can also offer possibilities for technical
applications. The basics of these two interdisciplinary fields are
also summarized.
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