research papers
Experiments have been made on the scattering of plane polarized sodium light by an orientated preparation of azoxyanisole in the liquid-crystal state at scattering angles, , from 0 to 50°. It is found that the most intense scattered radiation is polarized at right angles to the vibration direction of the incident beam. The variation of the scattered intensity, , as a function of is given by = k/(sin )1.6 and shows that scattering is due to large particles; a comparison of scattering in forward and backward directions indicates that the dimensions of these particles are of the order of 0.2 . The principle of reciprocity is found to apply to the liquid-crystal preparation, as is to be expected for a medium possessing an axis of revolution.