Phase Transitions at Low Magnification

Phase Transitions at Low Magnification

Phase transitions in magnetically aligned liquid crystalline DNA specimens are dependent upon the direction of the phase transition with respect to the magnetic field director vector and concentration gradient. The photomicrograph presented above illustrates the transition when the director vector is oriented at a 45-degree angle (lower left to upper right) with respect to the rectangular dimensions of the image. In this case, the cholesteric phase periodicity and longitudinal axis of batonnets are perpendicular to the director vector, but parallel to the concentration gradient. The magnification is approximately 50x, and the image was recorded on Fujichrome 64T transparency film using a Nikon Optiphot-Pol microscope with crossed polarized illumination. Exposures were recorded about 3 f-steps under the recommended value given by an in-camera photomultiplier and were push-processed approximately 1.5 f-steps in the first E-6 developer.

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