Claims
- 1. A birefringent fluid suspension system, comprising:
- a dielectric fluid; and
- a plurality of electrically conductive anisometric metal needles suspended in said dielectric fluid, each needle having a generally L-shaped cross-section, a length of between approximately 5,000-40,000 Angstroms, a width and a height each of between approximately 500-10,000 Angstroms, and a thickness of between approximately 200-3,000 Angstroms;
- the metal needles constituting between approximately 0.01%-10% of the suspension by volume.
- 2. A suspension as in claim 1, in which the dielectric fluid comprises a material selected from the group consisting of ketones, alcohols, esters, aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, aliphatic and aromatic halocarbons, aldehydes, and amines.
- 3. A suspension as in claim 1, in which the dielectric fluid comprises an organic material having substantially no permanent dipole.
- 4. A suspension as in claim 3, in which the organic material comprises a material selected from the group consisting of aliphatic hydrocarbons, aliphatic perfluorocarbons, and symmetrically substituted organic molecular materials.
- 5. A suspension as in claim 1, in which the dielectric fluid comprises an aliphatic hydrocarbon selected from the group consisting of pentane, hexane, heptane, octane, nonane, decane, undecane, dodecane, tridecane, tetradecane, pentadecane, hexadecane, and isomers thereof.
- 6. A suspension as in claim 1, in which the dielectric fluid comprises a cycloaliphatic hydrocarbon selected from the group consisting of cyclohexane and decalin.
- 7. A suspension as in claim 1, in which the dielectric fluid comprises a symmetrical aromatic hydrocarbon selected from the group consisting of benzene, paraxylene, mesitylene, and 1,3,5-triethylbenzene.
- 8. A suspension as in claim 1, in which the dielectric fluid comprises carbon tetrachloride.
- 9. A suspension as in claim 1, further comprising a solid organic material in solution with the dielectric fluid, the solid organic material having a symmetrical chemical structure and substantially no permanent dipole.
- 10. A suspension as in claim 9, in which the solid organic material is selected from the group consisting of carbon tetrabromide, para-dichlorobenzene, 1,3,5-trichlorobenzene, 1,2,4,5-tetrachlorobenzene, 1,3,5-tribromobenzene, and 1,2,4,5-tetrabromobenzene.
- 11. A suspension as in claim 1, in which the dielectric fluid comprises a material selected from the group consisting of bromoform, 1,1,2,2-tetrabromoethane, and 1,1,1,2-tetrabromoethane.
- 12. A suspension as in claim 1, in which each metal needle comprises:
- a first metal layer having said generally L-shaped cross section which includes an inwardly facing concave surface and an outwardly facing convex surface; and
- a second metal layer formed on said convex surface of the first metal layer.
- 13. A suspension as in claim 12, in which the first metal layer comprises copper, and the second metal layer comprises aluminum.
- 14. A suspension as in claim 13, in which the first metal layer has a thickness of between approximately 10-100 Angstroms, and the second metal layer has a thickness of between approximately 100-3,000 Angstroms.
Parent Case Info
This is a division of application Ser. No. 07/674,987, filed Mar. 26, 1991.
US Referenced Citations (4)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
0004900 |
Oct 1979 |
EPX |
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
674987 |
Mar 1991 |
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