Critical behavior at the nematic-to-smectic-A transition in a nonpolar liquid crystal with wide nematic range

High-resolution x-ray scattering experiments to study the critical smectic-A fluctuations in the nematic phase have been performed on a mixture of two nonpolar, two-benzene-ring compounds. The ratio T NA /T NI (=0.885) for this mixture is much smaller than for previously studied similar materials