What is the piezoelectric effect?

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Piezoelectric effect is the coupling between electrical and mechanical states in certain crystals. When a voltage is applied to a piezoelectric crystal, its lattice deforms and the crystal can vibrate at a precise frequency. This converse piezoelectric effect is what lets quartz crystals in RF oscillators produce stable frequencies. Conversely, applying mechanical stress to such crystals also generates an electrical signal. The other descriptions refer to magnetostriction (deformation by a magnetic field) and the photovoltaic/photoelectric effects (electric energy produced by light), not the piezoelectric phenomenon.