piezoelectric crystal

British

/ paɪˌiːzəʊɪˈlɛktrɪk /

noun

a crystal, such as quartz, that produces a potential difference across its opposite faces when under mechanical stress See also piezoelectric effect

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

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This penlike device used a BBQ lighter’s piezoelectric crystal, which generates a pulse of electricity when pressure is applied to it.

From Scientific American • Nov. 16, 2021

All extraneous impulses are clipped off in a piezoelectric* crystal gate, which is the heart of the invention.

From Time Magazine Archive

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023