{"record":{"author":{"account_ref":null,"orcid":null},"builds_on":[],"content_schema":"pubphys.content.revision/1","content_sha256":"eb3323f5c59de77dc765fec16ccbf420ce09e11855d0fa68b7408554ad574b54","created":"2026-10-15T23:43:22Z","files":[],"origin":{"assisted_by":[],"kind":"seed"},"parents":["6974d8ab92af17fc0c68c2c55aa84128642104f3576f81a19a5cedfbda9bedb3","ce59fb6cd812fc05906d0c60a71c75ea22bc686bcf38e7c3ef7010834d98ee7b"],"salt":"3725909c3910bf5ae1964350e0853d37a37ffe784158d0180168017768533d3f","schema":"pubphys.record/2","site":"pubphys.com","target":null,"type":"revision"},"content":{"answer_type":"yes-no","assisted_by":[],"external_id":"bio.lc-defects.thermotropic-biaxial-nematic","kind":"well-posed","literature_status":"contested","n":"2","parents":[],"plain":"Theory predicts a liquid crystal in which molecules align along three perpendicular directions instead of one, called a biaxial nematic. It has been seen in mixtures with solvent, but claims of it in pure single-component liquid crystals remain disputed.","posed_since":"1970","precise":"Freiser (1970) predicted a biaxial nematic phase $N_b$ with three orthogonal directors in single-component thermotropic liquid crystals. Reports for bent-core and tetrapodal mesogens (2004 onward) are disputed as surface-induced biaxiality or cybotactic clusters. An answer is an unambiguous bulk measurement of a uniaxial-to-biaxial nematic transition in a thermotropic material, or a demonstration that the reported cases are uniaxial.","problem_ref":"6974d8ab92af17fc0c68c2c55aa84128642104f3576f81a19a5cedfbda9bedb3","references":"","settled_by":"Conoscopy, deuterium NMR and X-ray scattering on bulk monodomain samples free of surface effects, all showing biaxial order below a transition temperature.","status_note":"","title":"Does a thermotropic biaxial nematic phase exist?","topic_ref":null},"attested":{"attestation":{"batch":null,"client_id":null,"id_token_sha256":null,"kind":"platform"},"record_hash":"77b54136ead6c07cee0b02486d9c002b599021d90e9b805bd2bb952ee3af5e73","schema":"pubphys.attested/1"},"envelope":{"attested_hash":"9b1dd1bc4c5232091564e3e1df874780e9aaf8752a848c89ea82bd3f4d9d22bf","platform_signature":{"key_id":"c6afc19b31429869751f06879c75cd64ea92654423d15b44be775bf1310a60da","sig":"XiM2XEPwDAXtvIA7rBHszyqtDVw2nco0CDDZVzY03-R1qPnrWjBlNEh--k3JUP68dBfXEYETxxKAhnBBwwZCCg"},"schema":"pubphys.envelope/1"},"record_hash":"77b54136ead6c07cee0b02486d9c002b599021d90e9b805bd2bb952ee3af5e73","leaf_index":2592}