How does piezoelectric effect work

The direct piezoelectric effect was first seen in , and was initiated by the brothers Pierre and Jacques Curie. By combining their knowledge of pyroelectricity with their understanding of crystal structures and behavior, the Curie brothers demonstrated the first piezoelectric effect by using crystals of tourmaline, quartz, topaz, cane sugar, and Rochelle salt. Their initial demonstration showed that quartz and Rochelle salt exhibited the most piezoelectricity ability at the time.

Over the next few decades, piezoelectricity remained in the laboratory, something to be experimented on as more work was undertaken to explore the great potential of the piezoelectric effect.

The breakout of World War I marked the introduction of the first practical application for piezoelectric devices, which was the sonar device. This initial use of piezoelectricity in sonar created intense international developmental interest in piezoelectric devices. Over the next few decades, new piezoelectric materials and new applications for those materials were explored and developed. During World War II, research groups in the US, Russia and Japan discovered a new class of man-made materials, called ferroelectrics, which exhibited piezoelectric constants many times higher than natural piezoelectric materials.

Although quartz crystals were the first commercially exploited piezoelectric material and still used in sonar detection applications, scientists kept searching for higher performance materials. This intense research resulted in the development of barium titanate and lead zirconate titanate, two materials that had very specific properties suitable for particular applications.

There are many materials, both natural and man-made, that exhibit a range of piezoelectric effects. Some naturally piezoelectric occurring materials include Berlinite structurally identical to quartz , cane sugar, quartz, Rochelle salt, topaz, tourmaline, and bone dry bone exhibits some piezoelectric properties due to the apatite crystals, and the piezoelectric effect is generally thought to act as a biological force sensor.

An example of man-made piezoelectric materials includes barium titanate and lead zirconate titanate. In recent years, due to the growing environmental concern regarding toxicity in lead-containing devices and the RoHS directive followed within the European Union, there has been a push to develop lead free piezoelectric materials.

Pierre Curie would later share the Nobel prize with his wife, Marie Curie , and Henri Becquerel for their work on radiation. The Curie brothers only discovered that piezoelectric materials can produce electricity, not that electricity can deform them. The next year, Gabriel Lippmann discovered this converse effect. Despite these exciting discoveries, it was not until the early twentieth century that practical devices began to appear. Today, it is known that many materials such as quartz, topaz, cane sugar, Rochelle salt, and bone have this effect.

When there is no applied stress on the material, the positive and negative charges are evenly distributed so there is no potential difference. When the lattice is changed slightly, the charge imbalance creates a potential difference, often as high as several thousand volts.

However, the current is extremely small and only causes a small electric shock. The converse piezoelectric effect occurs when the electrostatic field that an electrical current creates causes the atoms in the material to move slightly.

Small piezoelectric crystals can produce enough voltage to create a spark large enough to ignite gas. These igniters are used in many gas-powered appliances like ovens, grillers, room heaters, and hot water heaters. They are even small enough to fit inside lighters, although most lighters still use flint because it costs less and only the more expensive lighters use piezo igniters. While there have been many attempts to generate electricity from the effect, it has proven impractical on a large scale.

Piezoelectric crystals are used in electronic clocks and watches to maintain the time and provide the alarm noise. They are also called quartz clocks because the crystal they use is often made from quartz. It has a natural frequency that is ideal for creating the oscillations needed to maintain exact time.

Quartz clocks are also used to organize the flow of data in computers. Discs made of piezoelectric material are also used to create thin speakers that fit inside wristwatches. Sonar transducers apply an electrical pulse to a piezoelectric crystal to create a pressure wave, then produce a current when the reflected wave deforms the crystal.

The time gap between the two currents is used to work out how far away an object it. Industrial inkjet printers use the converse piezoelectric effect to move ink through the hundreds of nozzles in their print heads. An electric current makes a tiny crystal in each nozzle bend, creating a pressure pulse that forces the ink out.

Ink is drawn into the nozzle when the current stops and the crystal relaxes. Your email address will not be published. Let us know what you have to say:. This voltage is high enough to make a spark between the wires, which ignites the gas. Piezo igniters are used on most gas furnaces and stoves now as well.

Isaiah David is a freelance writer and musician living in Portland, Ore. He has over five years experience as a professional writer and has been published on various online outlets. He holds a degree in creative writing from the University of Michigan. How Do Piezoelectric Crystals Work?

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