Abstract
The director orientation around gas bubbles in liquid crystalline emulsions has been investigated. We introduce a new technique which allows a continuous variation of the bubble size. A nematic liquid crystal host is used into which micrometer–sized gas bubbles are injected. By applying pressure to the system, the diameter of these gas bubbles can be continuously varied. A transition from a hyperbolic hedgehog configuration to a saturn ring configuration is found when continuously decreasing the particle size. Furthermore, an electric field has been applied to the system, in order to control the director orientation around the bubbles. In addition to controlling the size of the gas inclusions, their shape can also be controlled, and long air tubes can be created.
