Wave Number Spectrum of Dissipative Structures in Nematic Liquid Crystals

Abstract

We have measured the wave number spectrum of dissipative structures in nematic liquid crystals MBBA which undergo successive hydrodynamic instabilities in external electric field. The transition to turbulence is preceded by two successive stationary modes; the first of these corresponds to the two dimensional flow (Williams domain), and the second to the three dimensional flow (grid pattern). The spectrum for the turbulent state is found to obey the Kohogorov’s −5⁄3 power law.