![]() They then return back to a source receiver. The sound waves travel through the water until they hit an object. ![]() This is the inverse piezoelectric effect in action, which converts electrical energy into mechanical sound waves. Sonar works by connecting a voltage to a piezoelectric transmitter. In World War I, piezoelectricity was used for practical applications in sonar. The next 30 years saw Piezoelectricity reserved largely for laboratory experiments and further refinement. They called this the piezoelectric effect. While experimenting with various crystals, they discovered that applying mechanical pressure to specific crystals like quartz released an electrical charge. ![]() Piezoelectricity was first discovered in 1880 by two brothers and French scientists, Jacques and Pierre Curie. Take a speaker, for example, which applies a voltage to a piezoelectric ceramic, causing the material to vibrate the air as sound waves. The inverse piezoelectric effect is used in a variety of applications. As the crystal’s structure expands and contracts, it converts the received electrical energy and releases mechanical energy in the form of a sound wave.Electrical energy is then applied to the crystal, which shrinks and expands the crystal’s structure.The crystal’s structure is in perfect balance. In the same situation as the example above, we have a piezoelectric crystal between two metal plates.You can also do the opposite, applying an electrical signal to a material as an inverse piezoelectric effect. That’s it, a simple application of mechanical pressure, the squeezing of a crystal, and suddenly you have an electric current. The metal plate collects these charges, which can be used to produce a voltage and send an electrical current through a circuit.Excess negative and positive charges appear on opposite sides of the crystal face. Mechanical pressure is then applied to the material by the metal plates, which forces the electric charges within the crystal out of balance.At this point, the material is in perfect balance and does not conduct an electric current. A piezoelectric crystal is placed between two metal plates.You can apply mechanical or electrical energy to the same piezoelectric material and get the opposite result.Īpplying mechanical energy to a crystal is a direct piezoelectric effect and works like this: The most unique trait of this effect is that it works two ways. We have specific materials suited for piezoelectricity applications, but how exactly does the process work? With the Piezoelectric Effect. Lithium Niobate is a material that combines oxygen, lithium, and niobium together in a ceramic material that performs similarly to barium titanate.Barium Titanate is a ceramic piezoelectric material discovered during World War II and is known for its long-lasting durability.PZT is from lead zirconate titanate and can produce more voltage than quartz with the same mechanical pressure.Man-made piezoelectric materials include: Other naturally occurring piezoelectric materials include cane sugar, Rochelle salt, topaz, tourmaline, and even bone.Īs piezoelectric technology started to take off after World War I, we began developing man-made materials to rival the performance of quartz. The most well-known, and the first piezoelectric material used in electronic devices is the quartz crystal. There are a variety of piezoelectric materials that can conduct an electric current, both man-made and natural. If you take the same piezoelectric crystal and apply an electric current to it, the crystal will expand and contract, converting electrical energy into mechanical energy. However, if you apply mechanical pressure to a piezoelectric crystal, the structure deforms, atoms push around, and you have a crystal that conducts an electrical current. The structure in these crystals isn’t symmetrical, but they still exist in an electrically neutral balance. There are other crystals that get lumped together as piezoelectric materials. This makes them useless for piezoelectric purposes. Most crystals, such as iron, have a symmetrical unit cell. Regular crystals are defined by their organized and repeating structure of atoms that are held together by bonds, called a unit cell. In a nutshell, piezoelectricity is the process of using crystals to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy or vice versa. Instead of squeezing grapes to make wine, we’re squeezing crystals to make an electric current! Piezoelectricity is in a ton of everyday electronic devices, from quartz watches to speakers and microphones. The word piezoelectric originates from the Greek word piezein, which literally means to squeeze or press. Piezo what? Piezoelectricity sounds like a lot to take in, but it’s simple to understand. Learn how piezoelectricity produces an electric charge by applying mechanical stress to a piezoelectric material. Français (French ) Italiano (Italian ) Deutsch (German )
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