layers of composite material directly onto the mold surface of the negative mold, followed by a core, usually made of a framework of balsa wood or foam material, and then second layers of composite material laid up on the exposed surface of the core. Once the composite material has cured, the entire hull is lifted from the negative mold by an overhead crane or the like, and moved to another site within the manufacturing facility for further construction of the vessel. The negative mold is disassembled into its two half sections, and stored for re-use.
The method and apparatus for constructing the hull of vessels described above has a number of limitations and disadvantages. One problem relates to scale. Many luxury yachts and larger sport fishing vessels are in---
abstract: |
    The Landau-de Gennes free energy is used to calculate the interaction between long cylindrical colloids and the nematic-isotropic (NI) interface. This interaction has two contributions: one is specific of liquid crystals and results from the deformation of the director field close to the particles or to the interface, while the other is generic and results from wetting and surface tension effects.

    Deep in the nematic phase the director field of long cylindrical colloids, with strong homeotropic anchoring, exhibits two half-integer defect lines. As the colloid moves towards the interface, the director configuration changes through a series of discontinuous transitions, where one or two of the defects are annihilated. In addition, the NI interface bends towards the colloid in order to