THE MESOMORPHIC BEHAVIOR OF ANHYDROUS SOAPS: PART I. LIGHT TRANSMISSION BY ALKALI METAL STEARATES

Abstract

The anhydrous salts of the long chain fatty acids are known to pass through a number of well-defined mesomorphic forms between the true crystalline solid and the isotropic liquid. The nature of some of these mesomorphic forms has been investigated by a study of their optical properties, electrical conductivity, density, and viscosity. In this paper, results obtained by an optical method are presented for phase transition temperatures of the alkali metal stearates and a number of sodium stearates having substituents in the hydrocarbon chain.