PMC

Cuneitropism. (a) Radial dowser field with d//gradh. (b) -wall connecting the eccentric dowson d+ with the center of the radial dowser field. (d,e) Radial dowser field with a shrinking circular -wall. (c,f) Structures of -walls. (g) Mechanical model explaining the cuneitropism of the dowser texture.

Dowser field in an annular channel. (a) Cross section of the channel. (b) Homeotropic outward anchoring of the dowser field at the lateral wall of the channel. (c,e) Defect-less dowser fields with opposite curls. (d) Dowser field in the presence of a dowsons’ pair d+d−.

Comparison of Dowser, Dowser+, Dowser++ and iterative WaterDock. Blue bar: average hit ratio χ_ave, red bar: average miss μ_ave, green bar: average reliability criterion ρ_ave.

Simultaneous evidence for the flexo-electric polarisation of the dowser texture and for the electro-osmotic flows in 5CB. (a,a’) Application of an electric field by the one-gap system of electrodes. Due to its flexo-electric polarisation, the dowser field d is aligned by the electric field E inside the gap. -walls are generated at edges of the gap because outside of the gap, the dowser field d is aligned in the opposite direction by the electro-osmotic flow v. (b) Transitory splitting of the -wall and motions of -walls due the reversal of the electric field. (c,c’) Alignment of the dowser field by the reversed electric field and electro-osmotic flow.