Piezoelectricity

What Does Piezoelectricity Mean?

Piezoelectricity is the electric charge that accumulates in certain materials when mechanical force or stress is applied to them. It is used in a number of different engineering, manufacturing, telecommunication and computer systems that capture mechanically induced energy and transform it into electric power.

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Techopedia Explains Piezoelectricity

Piezoelectricity is primarily used as input for certain components such as actuators, sensors and oscillators. It is used to detect voltages, sound waves, electronic frequency, pressure and mechanical movements. The aforementioned components use the electric charge generated from a piezoelectric material for certain processes or functions. For example, a crystal oscillator uses piezoelectricity to deliver stable clock signals to the integrated circuits in computers and cellphones. Piezoelectricity is also commonly used in certain devices such as piezometers, piezoelectric accelerometers and other similar devices.

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Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…