Handling precautions...None really.  It is somewhat sensitive
   to mechanical jars and jolts due to possible breakage, but
   generally, there are no special handling procedures.

 Yes, it can be damaged by being dropped.  That's not to say it
   will, but it CAN be.   I would advise against dropping it.

 Electrically...If driven too hard, ie too much voltage or
   current, the quartz slab can shatter from sheer mechanical
   overstress.  Whether you know it or not, quartz is one of
   a few substances known to man that posseses the piezoelectric
   effect.  If you apply a voltage to this material, it will
   deform proportional to the voltage applied.  So, therefore,
   applying too much voltage will cause the slab to literally
   deform so much that it has gone beyond it's elasticity and
   past the point of no return.  It literally self destructs.
   No granted, this isn't going to explode with the force of a
   stick of dynamite mind you, but it will render the crystal
   useless.  And as an FYI, the piezoelectric effect can be
   used in the reciprocal mode too.  ie if you apply a mechanical
   deformation to a slab of qyartz, a voltage will be developed
   across the faces.  This is the theory of operation of older
   crystal microphones and Rochelle Salts Phono cartridges.

      Hope this helps you out.

                                     Regards,

                                       Jim




On Tue, 04 January 2000, James Cameron wrote:

>
> Crystal.  So it's a bit of rock with some metal stuck in a tin can.
>
> Any handling precautions?  Does the crystal get damaged if dropped?
> What injury can be done electrically?
>
> Can they be used like MOSFETs and dead PICs as heating elements?  ;-)
>
> --
> James Cameron   mailto:quozl@us.netrek.org   http://quozl.us.netrek.org/

jim@jpes.com