Fig. 1.

Packing arrangements observed for 1 μm-in-diameter, fluorescent PS colloids adsorbed to the poles of nematic 5CB droplets in bipolar configurations. (A) Bright field (BF) and polarized light (PL) micrographs of a droplet of 5CB in a bipolar configuration, as well as a schematic illustration of the bipolar configuration. Note that in the bipolar configuration, the LC is aligned tangentially to the droplet surface and two diametrically opposite point defects (boojums) are present at the poles of the droplets. (B) (left to right), for two PS colloids, schematic illustration, fluorescence micrograph of two colloids, and BF and PL micrographs and a schematic illustration of a 5CB droplet. (C and D) Arrangements are shown for (C) three and (D) four colloids. For each arrangement, we show a schematic illustration of the arrangement (left) and a fluorescence micrograph (right). The orientation of the crossed polarizers in PL micrographs is indicated by the white double-headed arrows. The red arrows indicate the location of the boojum defect at which the colloids are adsorbed. The percentages of droplets in each arrangement is expressed to the right of each schematic illustration, and was calculated from analysis of (B) 121, (C) 175 or (D) 180 droplets in 5 independent experiments. In Fluo micrographs, the contrast is enhanced to highlight the arrangements of colloids.