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Mahesh

31/03/23 07:03 AM IST

Scientists spot piezoelectric effect in liquids for the first time

In News
  • For the first time, scientists have reported evidence of the piezoelectric effect in liquids. The effect has been known for 143 years and in this time has been observed only in solids.
Piezoelectric Effect
  • The piezoelectric effect is a phenomenon where a body develops an electric current when it is squeezed.
  • The research team found the piezoelectric effect in two pure ionic liquids at room temperature, which are liquids made of ions instead of molecules.
  • The discovery challenges the existing theory that describes the effect and opens up new possibilities for electronic and mechanical systems.
  • The piezoelectric effect has been known for 143 years and was previously observed only in solids.
  • The piezoelectric effect was expected only in solids because they have an organized structure that enables the effect. The liquids do not have such structure, so the discovery is surprising.
  • The strength of the effect was found to be lower in the liquids than in quartz, the most famous piezoelectric crystal.
  • The liquids could be used in electronic and mechanical systems that have not been accessible with solid-state materials.
  • The liquids are more readily recyclable and pose fewer environmental issues than many currently used piezoelectric materials.
  • The discovery requires a theoretical framework with predictive power to understand these experimental observations.
Significance
  • The discovery opens the door to applications that have previously not been accessible with solid-state materials and are more readily recyclable and in many instances pose fewer environmental issues than many currently used piezoelectric materials.
  • The liquids also displayed the inverse piezoelectric effect: they became distorted when an electric charge was applied, this fact could be used to control how the liquids bent light passing through them by passing different currents through them.
Source- The Hindu

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