Trade secrets... Piezoelectric crystals
Secrets of the trade: Gas lighters, mosquito bite relief and police sirens – Jonathan Hare explores piezo chemistry in action!
When a piezoelectric crystal is bent or stressed the distribution of charge inside the crystal changes. This results in the creation of positive and negative charges on opposite faces of the crystal, generating a voltage. If we connect wires to the faces of the crystal we can make use of this voltage. Examples of piezoelectric materials include quartz, Rochelle salts (potassium sodium tartrate), many plastics, table sugar and even bone.
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