DC voltage-controlled pulsations of a homotropic nematic layer with a free-sliping liquid crystal-polar liquid boundary

DC voltage‐controlled infrasound quasiperiodic pulsations of a homeotropic nematic layer with a free‐sliping boundary liquid crystal‐polar liquid in a conventional sandwich cell are discovered. Such pulsations appear at a well‐defined threshold voltage which is around 3.5 to 4.5 V. Their period depends crucially on the nature of the polar liquid and for the liquid crystal water sample it is several seconds while for the liquid crystal–glycerin sample it is several tens of seconds. It seems that the pulsations are connected with the formation and saturation of the electric double layers around the interfaces liquid crystal‐polar liquid. The appearance of the instability probably by the mechanism of Rayleigh–Taylor evidently discharges or destroys the electric double layers which again are formed accompanied by the reappearance of the instability. This novel electrooptic effect can be applied to the display technique. [Russian Text Ignored].