Theoretical Basis for a Piezoelectric Effect in Rocks

Abstract

In 1953, Volarovich and I established the existence of piezoelectric effects in a number of rock types, that is, we discovered a new and large class of natural piezoelectric aggregates [14, 15]. This not only provided verification of the general concepts of a theory for piezoelectric fabrics developed by Academician A. V. Shubnikov in 1946 [1], but also provided a basis for developing the theory for piezoelectric textures in rocks. The theoretical and experimental investigations of piezoelectric fabrics are a new stage in the knowledge of piezoelectric effects in materials, and are of considerable practical value. A piezoelectric fabric is a property of polycrystalline materials which contain piezoelectric crystals oriented in some preferential manner with respect to some element of symmetry or some specific direction corresponding to an axis of infinite order.