Experimental Problems - Language: English

E – Physics of piezoelectricity (20 pts) Task E.2 - Piezoelectric properties (10.0 pts)

Some crystalline, electrically insulating materials, a Measure the capacitance C of the capacitor (Fig.
such as quartz and lead zirconate titanate, exhibit 3b). (2.0 pts)
an electrical response when mechanical pressure is b The metallic plates on the sides of the piezo ele-
applied. In short, mechanical stress polarizes the ment also act as a capacitor. Find the capacitance
crystals, which is called the piezoelectric effect. This Cp of the piezo element. (2.5 pts)
phenomenon can be explained by the special struc- c Measure and plot how the voltage between the
ture of their molecules: the deformation gives each plates of the piezo element depends on the total
molecule an electric dipole moment. Conversely, me- perpendicular force, which is evenly distributed
chanical stress is generated in the presence of an over the surface of the piezo via its wooden cover
electric field, a phenomenon known as the reverse plate. For low forces, the dependence is linear;
piezoelectric effect. However, in this problem, we find the slope β in this regime. (4.0 pts)
will neglect the reverse piezoelectric effect. d The molecules of the crystals can only have polar-
This problem investigates a simple device that re- izations lower than a certain critical value. Find
lies on piezoelectricity, the piezoelectric element. It the maximal (saturation) voltage of the piezo, the
consists of the piezoelectric material placed between pressure psat at saturation and the maximal sur-
two circular metallic plates. When a force, perpen- face density σmax of the charge on the surface of
dicular to the metallic plates, is applied to the el- the piezo element. (1.5 pts)
ement, a force-dependent voltage appears between
the plates.
Task E.3 - Small area behaviour (1.0 pts)
Equipment (see also Fig. 1)
When a force is applied to a small region of the piezo
A Piezo element with electrical leads, attached to crystal, due to electro-mechanical coupling, the crys-
a wooden base plate and a cover plate with a tal will try to curve. However, the wooden plates will
small hole. The hole goes through the entire coverprevent this, and as a result, mechanical stress will
plate, such that a small part of the top electrode of
appear in other parts of the crystal, too.
the piezo element is visible through it. This elec-
How much will the electrical response change
trode is thin and flexible.
when the force is applied to a small area of the crys-
B Multimeter (inner resistances are given, refer to tal? Consider only the linear range of the response.
the important remarks on the next page).
C 1.5 V AA battery with connector.
Task E.4 - Deformation of the ball (4.5 pts)
D Capacitor of unknown capacitance, with a diode
soldered to one leg (when a forward current flowsIn this part you will be dropping the more elastic rub-
through the diode, the voltage drop across it is ber ball on the piezo element. During the collision
0.56 V). between the ball and the piezo, the ball experiences
E 4 electric push-button switches (connected while deformations. You can assume that the force F act-
pressed) on wires. ing on the ball depends on the ball’s elastic deforma-
tion x as a power law:
F 6 crocodile clamps.
G Digital scales (up to 10 kg). F = kxα . (1)
H Digital stop watch.
Find the exponent α and the material constant k.
I 2 different rubber balls.
J Wooden stand with adjustable release mecha- Task E.5 - Interaction time (2.5 pts)
nism. With the result from the previous task, it would be
K 50 cm ruler. possible to determine the interaction time τ of the
L Small, wooden sticks (diameter of 2 mm), in two more elastic ball with the wooden surface. However,
different lengths. for the less elastic ball, there is no simple description
such as Eq. 1. Alternatively, we can make the follow-
M Large metal screw.
ing assumption.
N Wooden clothes peg. If, for a certain collision speed v0 , the force experi-
O Pencil, pen and pencil sharpener. enced by the ball as a function of time can be de-
scribed as F0 (t) = f (t), then for any other speed v1 ,
Task E.1 — Elasticity of the ball (2.0 pts) the time dependence takes a similar shape and we
can express the force as:
Of the two rubber balls you are provided with, one is
more elastic than the other. F1 (t) = a1 f (b1 t) . (2)
For the more elastic rubber ball, determine the
fraction of kinetic energy which is lost during a colli- Estimate and plot how the interaction time τ scales
sion with a solid surface. Determine this fraction for with the collision speed v for collisions of the less
three different values of the initial kinetic energy. elastic rubber ball with a solid surface.
 Experimental Problems - Language: English
Important practical remarks

• It is expected that you provide circuit diagrams

with all the electrical measurements you take. Use
the symbols provided in Fig. 2.
• Be careful not to short the multimeter! The inter-
nal resistances given are only valid for DC voltage
measurements.
• Do not exceed a total load of 100 N of force on the
piezo element.
• To connect two wires, it is recommended to wrap
them around each other and use the crocodile
clamps to secure the connection, see Fig. 3a.
• The diode’s polarity is visible in Fig. 3b.
• You can adjust the height of the release mechanism
via the two screws on the back, see Fig. 4. You can
also adjust the horizontal position by unscrewing
the vertical nut at the release mechanism. Figure 1: Overview of all the materials used in this
• Be careful not to let the bouncy ball escape. You experiment.
can minimize the chances of the ball leaving your
table by placing the stand with the release mech-
anism against one of the walls or in a corner of A B C D E F G H I
your desk and use the ruler as another, transpar-
ent wall that is secured with the clothes peg. If A V Ω +
you still loose the ball, ask for assistance, do not
leave your place.
• After a certain time of inactivity, the multimeter
Figure 2: The most common circuit symbols: A - re-
will start to beep and, after another few minutes,
sistor, B - ammeter, C - voltmeter, D - ohmmeter, E -
will shut down. You can prevent shut-down by
switch, F - battery, G - capacitor, H - diode, I - piezo
pressing any button.
element. Wires marked with a red star have a red
• Be aware that some regions of your table may
coating.
spring back under load. It is wise to use stable
regions of your table for the bouncing experiment.
• For the evaluation of a series of measurements,
you are expected to plot the data.
• Only those measurements and evaluation methods
that promise the highest precision and accuracy
are awarded full marks. Choose your approaches
accordingly while keeping in mind the precision of
your tools. However, no marks are awarded for
error estimation.
• When measuring DC voltages with the multimeter
in a range with the smallest digit resolution being
δU , the uncertainty ∆U of the measured value U
can be estimated via:

(a) Recommended electrical (b) The diode attached

∆U = 0.7% · U + 3 · δU . (3) connection with wires wrapped to the capacitor with
around another and secured the circuit symbol
• The internal resistance of your multimeter in the with a crocodile clamp. placed next to the
DC voltmeter setting depends on the measurement diode in correct orien-
tation.
range and model number. In Fig. 5, you can
see where to find the model number of your volt- Figure 3: Helpful remarks on the electric compo-
meter. The following table provides the internal nents
resistances for two measurement ranges and all
models.

model number(s) range internal resistance

all models 2V 11.1 MΩ
UT33B+ 200 mV 9.65 MΩ
UT33C+ 200 mV 9.91 MΩ
UT33D+ 200 mV 9.70 MΩ
 Experimental Problems - Language: English

Figure 4: The two wingnuts on the back can easily Figure 5: The red arrow points towards the model
be loosened to allow the release mechanism to slide number of the multimeter.
vertically. Also, the vertical nut can be used to enable
horizontal adjustment.