Piezo electric crystals

Piezo electric crystals

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Discussion

MissChief

Original Poster:

7,241 posts

175 months

Wednesday 2nd September 2015
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I'm assuming they need constant torsion or flexing to produce electricity but what sort of amounts are we talking about and how big do they need to be to light up an LED? Would a small crystal be enough to light an LED if subject to centripetal force for example?

TheEnd

15,370 posts

195 months

Wednesday 2nd September 2015
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I had a feeling it was the flex that created an instantaneous voltage, so if you bend a crystal, and keep it bent, it only does something on the first bend.

MissChief

Original Poster:

7,241 posts

175 months

Wednesday 2nd September 2015
quotequote all
That's what I thought, but if you keep it under load/flex it still won't produce any more voltage/Amps other than the first time?

jet_noise

5,801 posts

189 months

Wednesday 2nd September 2015
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spikeyhead

17,988 posts

204 months

Sunday 6th September 2015
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Rocks don't conduct electricity, so whilst you can get a decent voltage out of them, the current available is very low. You'd need a lot of crystal and continuous flexing to get an LED lit.