The piezoelectric effect is simple in its rules: Apply mechanical stress to a material and you generate an electric charge. The inverse is also true: Apply a voltage to a material, and it changes ...

Despite their shortcomings, fans do a good job of cooling things down inside PC chassis. Unfortunately, their bulky shape and drain on battery life doesn’t make them a viable option for thinner form ...

Before humans discovered ultrasound for a variety of medical, technical and military applications, nature had perfected it over millions of years for navigation under and above water. Dolphins and ...

Electromagnetic motors and drivers are have been optimized for more than 100 years. They can be found applications from toys to aerospace systems. With all their advantages, there are limitations such ...

Japan's Kyocera Corporation has combined a piezoelectric actuator with a special resin film to produce a proprietary, piezo film speaker that is considerably thinner and lighter than conventional ...

To increase the accessibility of piezoelectric transducers and actuators for OEM designers, manufacturers may package these devices inside a protective arrangement of flexures. This approach offers a ...

Motion and positioning devices play an integral role in the life-science and medical engineering fields, fulfilling their many different requirements. The spectrum extends from simple low-energy drive ...

Mrs. Melaniephile was cleaning the stove when the piezoelectric starter began periodically clicking/sparking on its own. Rather than the usual rapid-fire sparks of intentionally lighting a burner, it ...

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is utilized for surface measurements with atomic-level resolution — dimensions that are much beyond the highest resolution of optical microscopes. AFM is known to be a ...

Piezo technology is particularly suitable for fulfilling specific requirements of active microfluidics in wide-ranging medical technology applications. A new white paper from PI Ceramic describes the ...