BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk//
X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Reformulation of elasticity theory for liquid crystals and liquid 
 membranes - Jonathan Selinger (Kent State University)
DTSTART:20230810T100000Z
DTEND:20230810T110000Z
UID:TALK203854@talks.cam.ac.uk
DESCRIPTION:In this talk\, we re-examine the classic question: What are th
 e elastic modes of a nematic liquid crystal or a lipid membrane? For a liq
 uid crystal\, the analysis uses a recent mathematical construction\, which
  breaks the director gradient tensor into four distinct types of mathemati
 cal objects--splay\, twist\, bend\, and a fourth mode related to saddle-sp
 lay. With this construction\, the Oseen-Frank free energy can be written a
 s the sum of squares of the four modes. Similarly\, the Helfrich free ener
 gy for lipid membranes can be written as the sum of squares of two modes. 
 Based on this analysis\, we discuss how molecular shape and ordering leads
  to modulated phases of liquid crystals\, or curved microstructures of lip
 id membranes.
LOCATION:Seminar Room 2\, Newton Institute
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR