Shock Induced Polarization in Liquid Crystalline Material (MBBA)

Abstract

The shock induced polarization is one model to explain the electromotive force (EMF) originated from the shock compressed material and provides a good explanation of the variation of the current from the sample with time. This model suggests that the dipole polarization is induced at the shock front and decay behind the front with some characteristic long relaxation time. The precise microscopic mechanism is still unknown. The amount of induced polarization generally depends on the shock pressure and the material. We report the shock induced electromotive forces for several phases of 4-methoxybenzylidene-4-n-butylaniline (MBBA) and the strong dependence of the magnitude of EMF on the initial state of this material.