Investigations of piezo-electric effects with dielectrics

The Paper describes experiments on the piezo-electrification of dielectrics. The dielectrics examined were ebonite, glass, hornoid, sealing wax, rubber, celluloid, and hard paraffin. The relation of quantity to load was determined; with sensitive specimens the magnitude of the charge is of the same order as that found by Curie with crystals. Fatigue and hysteresis effects in these dielectrics were established. Experiments on cubes showed a dissymmetry in results, suggesting an irregularity of structure. The general similarity of the behaviour of these dielectrics to that of crystals leads to the assumption that they possess a quasi-crystalline character, and the effects are explained on this assumption, which has been verified by X-ray photographs.