Observing short-range orientational order in small-molecule liquids.

Local molecular ordering in liquids has attracted a lot of interest from researchers investigating crystallization, but is still poorly understood on the molecular scale. Classical nucleation theory (CNT), a macroscopic thermodynamic description of condensation, has shortcomings when dealing with clusters consisting of tens of molecules. Cluster formation and local order fluctuations in liquid media are difficult to study due to the limited spatial resolution of electron- and photon-imaging methods.