Electricity is all around us . It ’s in the wires in our walls , and in theatmosphere . It ’s in our phones , our cars , and , these days , our Holy Scripture . But it ’s also blot out in a very unexpected place : our bones .
It ’s called piezo effect , which translate to “ electricity by compact or force . ” Brothers Paul - Jacques and Pierre Curie — yes , that Pierre Curie — first coined the term to describe the electrical energy they saw in compressed quartz and tourmaline crystals .
Basically , piezo effect is a way of converting mechanical vitality into electrical energy . atmospheric pressure disrupts the equipoise of an object ’s electrical flush . One side of a crystal takes on a confident charge , and the other side becomes negative , which form it a sort of microscopic battery .
This does n’t work on everything ( stop squeezing your bozo , please ) , only certain crystals . But you ’d be surprised how many thing those quartz make up , and how utile they can be .
Piezoelectricity is the force that allows voice recognition software program to turn sound waves into signals your computer can practice . It ’s the reason crystal scout are so accurate , and the force that transforms the grooves on a vinyl L-P into music we can hear . We can thank piezoelectricity for cigarette lighters , microphones , gas grill , ultrasound engineering science , and evenpotato guns . But its effects do n’t stop with contraption ; piezoelectricity has been found in all form of constitutional material , fromsilk and woodto arteria , tendons , and off-white .
Yes , you have crystal in your os . Our skeletons are made of both hard and soft tissue paper . The rigid parts that hold us up are compile of crystal ofcalcium phosphate , also known as bone table salt .
Japanese scientists first foundevidenceof piezoelectric effect in human bone in the late fifties . In the nearly six decades since , their experiments have been replicated and their answer validate . Our bones definitely can hold a charge — and that influence to our advantage .
As it turns out , bone reply pretty well to a little jolt of electricity . electric stimulant encourages castanets to grow and heal , a fact that ’s nowbeing exploitedby orthopedic surgeons . Our bones are living , alter target , gift thebody electricwith their queer small flicker .
