Influence of an external shear stress on the domain structure in incommensurate phase II of biphenyl

The incommensurate phase II of biphenyl is a bi-domain one. The naphthalene paramagnetic molecular probes used in this experiment permit the differentiation of these two domains: each Electron Paramagnetic Resonance line of the high temperature phase of biphenyl gives rise to two incommensurate lines in the phase II. But by applying a relevant shear stress, one favours one domain; this behaviour is observed on the E.P.R. spectra which exhibit only one incommensurate line. These results complete the ones obtained about the domain structure of phase II of biphenyl.