Transmission of polarized light in a cholesteric mixture in the presence of a d.c. electric field

The polar diagrams for the transmitted light in a liquid crystal cell (cholesteryl chloride and cholesteryl crotonate 50% by weight mixture) were determined. It was shown that thermal treatment may change the rotatory power and that external d.c. electric fields induce scatter in transmitted light. This is a storage effect which gives rise to a quasi-symmetric polar diagram. (author)