What Do High-Tc Superconductors and Layered Liquid Crystals Have in Common?
27 April 1989
In 1972, it was postulated by DeGennes that twisting a layered smectic-A liquid crystal was analogous to applying a magnetic field to a superconductor. Although most smectic-A liquid crystals behave like type-I superconductors and expel twist, evidence will be presented for the discovery of a smectic-A phase which exhibits type-II behavior, that is, twist penetrates its layered structure presumably concentrated in screw dislocations.