Electrical Phenomenon: Piezoelectricity

What is piezoelectricity? Until recently, to this writer it had been nothing but an obscure (if not somewhat funny) word. It is separate from electromagnetism or static electricity, but similar in that it is a plainly occurring electrical phenomenon that can be controlled and manipulated to make our world a good place!

Piezoelectricity: What is it?

Printer Inkjet

Piezoelectricity is the charge that is produced when mechanical stress is located on crystals, inevitable types of ceramics, bone, and other solid materials. An applied mechanical stress (which changes or deforms the static shape of the item by a very small whole that is not visible to the human eye) measurably increases the voltage of the item.

History

Piezoelectricity was first discovered very modestly by Pierre and Jacques Curie in 1880. They unbelievable what would happen when mechanical stress was applied to the crystals, but what they did not anticipate was the converse follow which makes piezoelectricity a reversible state: while an applied mechanical stress which changes the shape of the item increases the voltage, an applied voltage will cause the static shape to convert by a very small amount.

So What Is It Used For?

After years spent as nothing more than a lab curiosity, piezoelectricity is now utilized everywhere. A short list of the applications and products in which piezoelectricity is used is as follows:

Airbag sensors Sonar (applying alternating current causes the material to rapidly convert shape, which produces high-frequency sound waves.) Cigarette lighters Microphones Inkjet printers Diesel engines Fertility treatments Surgery (known as piezosurgery) Echolocation Electric guitars

While piezoelectricity is the follow of an activity taken on a natural substance, it may at first seem that it is not a "natural" phenomenon so much as one that requires human involvement. However, according to an article in Nature, a scientific journal:

Piezoelectric effects have been produced in a whole of soft tissues, as well as hard, and appear to be connected with the proximity of oriented fibrous proteins such as collagen. Thus, piezoelectricity may be a universal property of living tissue, and may play a significant part in several physiological phenomena.
Piezoelectricity is still being studied to fully understand the implications of its natural occurrences.

So there you have it! There are so many fantastic natural phenomena occurring right under our noses that have been utilized to make our world an fantastic place to live in. Here's to many more discoveries!

Electrical Phenomenon: Piezoelectricity