  When nematic liquid crystals are embedded in random polymer networks, the
disordered environment disrupts the long-range order, producing a glassy state.
If an electric field is applied, it induces large and fairly
temperature-independent orientational order. To understand the experiments, we
simulate a liquid crystal in a disordered polymer network, visualize the domain
structure, and calculate the response to a field. Furthermore, using an
Imry-Ma-like approach we predict the domain size and estimate the field-induced
order. The simulations and analytic results agree with each other, and suggest
how the materials can be optimized for electro-optic applications.
