Measurements of the coexistence curve and turbidity were made on different molecular mass samples of the branched polymer-solvent system eight-arm star polystyrene in methylcyclohexane near its critical point. We confirmed that these systems belong in the Ising universality class. The location of the critical temperature and composition as well as the correlation length, susceptibility, and coexistence curve amplitudes were found to depend on molecular mass and the degree of branching. The coexistence curve diameter had an asymmetry that followed a "complete scaling" approach. All the coexistence curve data could be scaled onto a common curve with one adjustable parameter. We found the coexistence curve amplitude to be about 12% larger for branched than linear polystyrenes of the same molecular mass in either solvent cyclohexane or methylcyclohexane. The two-scale-factor universality ratio R was found to be independent of molecular mass or degree of branching.

The heat capacity of the liquid–liquid mixture perfluoroheptane and 2,2,4-trimethylpentane (also known as iso-octane) has been measured for the first time near its upper critical consolute point using an adiabatic calorimeter. The theoretical expression for the heat capacity near the critical point was applied to our combined data runs. The critical exponent α was determined to be 0.106±0.026, which agreed with theoretical predictions. When α was fixed at its theoretical value of 0.11, our value for the amplitude ratio A+/A−=0.59±0.05 was consistent with experimental determinations and theoretical predictions. However, the two-scale-factor universality ratio X, now consistent among experiments and theories with a value between 0.019 and 0.020, was violated in this system when using the published value for the correlation length.

Flexible Reflex™ electronic skin and writing tablet displays can be patterned with translucent or opaque ink images for dynamic device case covers and tablets providing the user with new functionality and personalization. These displays result in complex images and multiple colors per display image at a low cost due to unpatterned conductors.

eWriters present a new challenge in determining their durability and reliability. Their unique and new use model as primary electronic note taking devices, require developing new techniques to determine systematic measurements. The method reported is reproducible and most closely resembles real life use. With this testing, eWriters show robust and durable behavior in normal writing conditions.

Dielectric spectroscopy, at room temperature (20°C), is used to study the dielectric response of ternary mixtures of commercial nematic liquid crystal mixtures E7 and E33, an organic solvent N-Methyl-2-Pyrrolidone (NMP) and a triblock polymers in the frequency range from 0.01 Hz to 1 MHz. The results indicate a dielectric relaxation in the hectohertz region. Individually, both E7 and NMP have rather large low frequency conductivities; however, the low frequency (0.01–10 Hz) behavior of the mixtures has no such behavior. We attribute this behavior to an ion getter effect of the triblock polymer surfactant. Optimized ternary mixtures obtain a real dielectric constant near 230, and loss tangent less than 0.05 at frequencies near 10 mHz.