How the Piezoelectric Effect Works in Crystals

Piezo-what?!

“Piezoelectric effect.” This fancy term gets thrown around some random crystal blogs. It doesn’t take pages of math to explain. It’s a property, like “plush”, “shiny”, or “deep-fried.” When you squeeze it, it conducts electricity. Squish! Zap! Power: ON. And, when you put a zap through it, it squeezes itself! Many crystals do it. Some crystals conduct electricity all the time, even when they’re not squeezed. Their planes are situated nice and neat to let the electricity pass through. Piezoelectric crystal planes are offset. Squeeze the crystal, align the offset planes, and let the electrons swim on through! You can’t see it happen.

An everyday example is the quartz sparker in a lighter, which you squeeze and make the lighter spark. More examples below, but first:

How TF does a piezoelectric crystal, that doesn’t plug into the wall or have batteries, make an electric current?

An electric current is electrons are moving in a certain direction. You never know where an electron is for sure, but on average, you can say most of them are going… *points* this-a-way —> or that-a-way <—. Crystals have a SHITE-ton of extra electrons just chilling between the clumpy nuclei. Nuclei are the balls that represent elements in those science-y pictures. Elements are off the periodic table: magnesium, silicon, or whatever it is the crystal’s made out of. Those SHITE-ton of electrons move around the crystal if they have an passageway. Think of the red seas parting. That’s how crystals can conduct electricity from getting squeezed. If your finger touches a conducting crystal, those electrons flow into skin. It’s like sticking your finger in a super-duper low power electrical outlet. But since it’s super-duper low power you probably won’t get zapped (resulting in Einstein hair).

By the way, you know what other material has a SHITE-ton of extra electrons waiting to ~flow~? Metals, like copper, silver, and gold. That’s why we make wires out of them! And, we don’t have to squeeze them for them to “part the red seas” for electron flow!

Are there any other interesting examples of piezoelectric effect crystals besides quartz?

Why yes, glad you asked. Sugar is piezoelectric, and so are… wait for it… BONES! Some deaf people can actually take advantage of this to “hear”. They can feel the vibration of air in their bones!

Crystals have teeny-tiny special layers that are so teeny-tiny that air can push ’em around. When there’s sound, there’s air getting pushed around! When the crystal feels the push, the layers might align like we talked about above. The result? The red seas part for the electrons to move! A detector-y device can record the special way the electrons moved by reading out the current. This is how we can go from SOUND –> ELECTRICITY, but the information is one in the same! The crystal “translated” the message! Learn about another carbon-based ‘crystal’ – shungite!

Inventors use the piezoelectric effect to make devices that convert sounds to electricity! Sound is moving air, which is why there’s no music in space. How sad for the aliens on atmosphere-less planets! (It’s ok, they probably have special space-ears).  Another everyday example of piezoelectric effect: MICROPHONES!

Orgonite captures the piezoelectric effect in a super obvious way. Piezoelectric crystals cast in resin = orgonite. When the resin cures, it squeezes on the shards of crystals. The piezoelectric shards inside are under constant pressure. There’s definitely an electric field around orgonite. All made possible from a squeeze turned into a zap! 

Check out my Instagram post about EMF protection!