Ingo Dierking, featured ILCC liquid crystal artist, November 2018

http://softmatter-dierking.myfreesites.net/
http://ingo-dierking-photography.myfreesites.net/

A s=+1 defect of the nematic phase, with the texture resulting from a director field, which is sometimes called a Dowser state, after a dowser searching for underground water with an instrument, which, when turned through 2π, gives the well known two-dimensional radial projection of the director field on a plane. The texture of the defect is a clear indication of the defect's escape into the third dimension. The image was taken with a Leica OPTIPHOT polarizing microscope with a x10 objective and then cropped to the section shown. The length of the long side is approximately 250 micrometers. |
Jury comment:
The picture nicely illustrates the polarisation optics of a liquid crystal around a s=+1 defect and also has a pleasant colour composition.
The picture nicely illustrates the polarisation optics of a liquid crystal around a s=+1 defect and also has a pleasant colour composition.