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What Is a Quartz Oscillator?

What Is a Quartz Oscillator? thumbnail
Quartz crystals are used to generate an electrical signal.

A quartz oscillator uses a natural quartz crystal to generate an electrical signal and a precise frequency. This frequency is used in many everyday items such as watches, clocks and radio transmitters.

  1. History

    • That solid materials, such as crystals and ceramics, can manipulate the electric field -- pyzoelectricity -- was demonstrated first by Jacques Curie and his brother Pierre in 1880. American physicist and electrical engineer Walter Guyton Cady built the first-ever quartz crystal oscillator in 1921.

    Operation

    • The quartz oscillator works by taking a cut piece of quartz and applying a voltage to it through an electrode. When the voltage is removed, the crystal creates an electrical field and resonates at a constant frequency.

    Usage

    • The constant and precise resonant frequency generated by the quartz oscillator is used keep track of time in wristwatches and clocks. Radio transmitters use the signal to create a carrier wave for the station, while radio receivers utilize a resonator oscillator to tune into a station. Quartz crystal oscillators can also be found in computers, stun guns and metal detectors.

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  • Photo Credit Géode de quartz calcite image by Daoud from Fotolia.com

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