BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk//
X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Describing and determining the order of liquid crystals in the bul
 k and close to interfaces - Zannoni\, C (Universit di Bologna)
DTSTART:20130109T143000Z
DTEND:20130109T153000Z
UID:TALK42338@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Mustapha Amrani
DESCRIPTION:The definition and actual determination of orientational and p
 ositional order parameters plays a key role in describing the variety of m
 olecular organizations of liquid crystals and in quantifying their changes
 \, e.g. at phase transitions or when approaching an interface. The classic
 al description of order in terms of a single parameter\, which implicitly 
 assumes a simple rigid and uniaxial molecular shape\, has to be refined in
  a number of ways\, e.g. to allow for biaxiality [1] or internal flexibili
 ty [2\,3] or inhomogeneities in thin films [4] or nanodroplets [5]. This i
 ncreased complication has become essential in view of progresses in experi
 mental and simulation techniques\, now offering an unprecedented level of 
 detail and of possibilities of putting theories of liquid crystals and ult
 imately our understanding of anisotropic phases to the test. In the talk w
 e present some examples of order and structure determinations from coarse 
 grained [1\,5] and atomistic simulations [2-4].
LOCATION:Seminar Room 1\, Newton Institute
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR