piezoelectricity
/pʌɪˌiːzəʊɪlɛkˈtrɪsɪti
/ /ˌpiːzəʊɪlɛkˈtrɪsɪti/noun [mass noun]
Electric polarization in a substance (especially certain crystals) resulting from the application of mechanical stress.Electricity as a natural phenomenon shows up in many forms, including piezoelectricity, static electricity, atmospheric effects, and cosmic rays....
- During the week, floating tiles would generate energy through piezoelectricity, a 19 th-century technology that is used to power quartz watches.
- Thus, electrical and mechanical changes are coupled, analogous to piezoelectricity.
Piezoelectric substances are able to convert mechanical signals (such as sound waves) into electrical signals, and vice versa. They are therefore widely used in microphones, gramophone pickups, and earphones, and also to generate a spark for lighting gas.
Derivatives
piezoelectric
/ /piːzəʊɪˈlɛktrɪk / adjective ...- Significantly, they have piezoelectric and electrostatic polarization properties that could be of use in small-scale sensing and microsystem applications, perhaps in the medical field.
- The structures are actuated with electrostatic, piezoelectric, or electromagnetic forces.
- These substances are called piezomagnets, analogous to the terminology for piezoelectric crystals whose electrical conductivity changes when they are subjected to pressure.
piezoelectrically
- A correcting element like a piezoelectrically driven mirror or an acousto-optic deflector steers the beam incident on the polygon to correct for the current facet error.
- The two lever pairs were both controllable by piezoelectrically driven manipulators, one of which could also be automatically driven by a computer.
- The similar techniques use periodic piezoelectrically induced deformation of one or two fluidic channels to the solution nebulizer.
Origin
Late 19th century: from Greek piezein 'press, squeeze' + electricity.