Principles of Piezoelectricity

In the first part of this chapter we give a qualitative description of the piezoelectric effect. The material in the following sections will provide a more detailed account of the piezoelectricity. The next part is a survey of pioneering research in this field by Pierre and Jacques Curie. We mention also Lipmann’s prediction of the converse effect. Finally we describe briefly some successes achieved in the area of practical applications of piezoelectricity and piezoelectric materials. This last part is just a brief sketch and not a complete picture.