Mechanical
Mechanical resonators are used in electronic circuits to generate signals of a precise frequency. These are called piezoelectric resonators, the most common of which is the quartz crystal. They are made of a thin plate of quartz with metal plates attached to each side, or in low frequency clock applications a tuning fork shape. The quartz material performs two functions. Its high dimensional stability and low temperature coefficient makes it a good resonator, keeping the resonant frequency constant. Second, the quartz's piezoelectric property converts the mechanical vibrations into an oscillating voltage, which is picked up by the plates on its surface, which are electrically attached to the circuit. These crystal oscillators are used in quartz clocks and watches, to create the clock signal that runs computers, and to stabilize the output signal from radio transmitters. Mechanical resonators can also be used to induce a standing wave in other medium. For example a multiple degree of freedom system can be created by imposing a base excitation on a cantilever beam. In this case the standing wave is imposed on the beam. This type of system can be used as a sensor to track changes in frequency or phase of the resonance of the fiber. One application is as a measurement device for dimensional metrology.
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Famous quotes containing the word mechanical:
“There is only one evil, to deny life
As Rome denied Etruria
And mechanical America Montezuma still.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)
“Prejudices are so to speak the mechanical instincts of men: through their prejudices they do without any effort many things they would find too difficult to think through to the point of resolving to do them.”
—G.C. (Georg Christoph)
“No sociologist ... should think himself too good, even in his old age, to make tens of thousands of quite trivial computations in his head and perhaps for months at a time. One cannot with impunity try to transfer this task entirely to mechanical assistants if one wishes to figure something, even though the final result is often small indeed.”
—Max Weber (1864–1920)