ELECTRICALLY-INDUCED SHEAR-WAVES IN COLLOIDAL CRYSTALS

The static light scattering method is used for the detection of acoust ic waves induced in colloidal crystals and liquids by low-frequency el ectric pulses, The method is sensitive to both density and shear modes and can be applied for the study of the liquid-crystalline phase tran sitions, At low fields the variations of light scattering intensity fo llow both the amplitude and the phase variations of the wave motion an d enable the determination of resonance parameters, hence of viscoelas tic parameters of the colloidal system. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.