title: Temperature variation of film tension above the bulk smectic-A-isotropic transition in freestanding liquid-crystal films.
abstract: We have measured the temperature variation of film tension above the bulk smectic-A-isotropic transition in freestanding films of two liquid-crystal compounds. Above the transition, the tension increases sharply with temperature, and the slope is proportional to the film's thickness regardless of whether or not the compound exhibits regular layer-by-layer thinning. The data can be interpreted in the context of theoretical models for layer thinning.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Stevens Point, Wisconsin 55481, USA. mveum@uwsp.edu
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Veum
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kutschera
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Voshell
authors.forename: S T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: H T
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Huang