Piezoelectricity

Article

Piezoelectricity is the production of electric charge in certain materials when they are mechanically stressed. The effect occurs because deformation changes the separation of positive and negative charge centres within the crystal structure.

The direct piezoelectric effect converts pressure, vibration, or strain into voltage. The inverse effect causes a material to deform when an electric field is applied.

Piezoelectric materials include quartz, tourmaline, Rochelle salt, specialised ceramics, and some polymers. Their response depends on crystal symmetry, orientation, temperature, and the direction of applied stress or field.

Applications include microphones, ultrasound transducers, accelerometers, pressure sensors, precision actuators, frequency-control crystals, sonar, ignition systems, and energy harvesting.

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• Source / publisher: Wikipedia
• URL type: WWW
• Credits: Wikipedia
• URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piezoelectricity