<p>Yes, pyroelectric gems exist. No, they don't produce electricity all the time. Pyroelectric gems can generate a certain amount of electric potential when cooled or heated.</p>

<p>To cite Wikipedia </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The change in temperature modifies the positions of the atoms slightly within the crystal structure, such that the polarization of the material changes. This polarization change gives rise to a voltage across the crystal. If the temperature stays constant at its new value, the pyroelectric voltage gradually disappears due to leakage current (the leakage can be due to electrons moving through the crystal, ions moving through the air, or current leaking through a voltmeter attached across the crystal)</p>
</blockquote>

<p><a href="http://www.handbookofmineralogy.org/search.html?p=piezo_pyro" rel="nofollow noreferrer">A full list of all piezoelectric minerals can be found at the website of the Mineralogical Society of America</a></p>

<p>And yes, you can buy them. Some, like Axinite, were used to remove hair and lint from objects.</p>

<p>There's no site like www.buypiezoelectricgems.com... So you should google them one by one and look for sellers. Or go to a gem fair.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-17T09:06:36.687Z
And if I forgot to take with me the charger, and my battery of telephone went dead during very cold winter, it is possible to use these gems to charge the telephone by using the tempeture that is outside?
Alex A
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-17T09:13:16.720Z
Are you MacGyver? ;-) how do you want to connect your phone to the gem? And what do you think an electric potential is? And how strong do you think it is?
JulPal
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-17T09:14:43.880Z
Sorry, I don’t know who is he. But I was thinking that they might posses a great power which I can connect the wire to one of gems and connect to telephone, and treat it as if it is a power supply. Just asking if it is possible only. And I want also to know how much voltage does it contain.
Alex A
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-17T10:06:31.647Z
@AlexA no, you cannot charge your phone with piezoelectric minerals in realistic conditions.
Gimelist
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-17T18:43:45.957Z
@AlexA pyroelectric mens the rock produces an electric current when heated but the power is very low and to charge a phone you need a huge number of rocks connected in series so it is not usefull for charging anything.
trond hansen
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-17T18:44:43.440Z
@trondhansen Is there any mineral that posses a high voltage of electricity?
Alex A
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-17T18:53:49.693Z
no rocks can not be used to produce an useful amount of power for charging but they are used in scales to register weight(piezo electric cells)and some minerals are used as thermistors to measure heat.
trond hansen
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-18T05:48:24.450Z
@Alex A: No, a rock that simply produced electricity would be a perpetual motion machine.  The electricity is produced by a change, which takes work.  That is, if you squeeze or bend a piezoelectric mineral, it produces a charge while it's being squeezed.  Stop squeezing, and the charge is static.
jamesqf
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-18T14:02:12.450Z
A good everyday example for piezoelectricity are those lighters that use a small electric spark instead of flint. When using these, you're squeezing a small piezoelectric crystal. The click before the spark is the quick release of the pressure you had applied, triggering a very short lived and weak high voltage current for the spark. It gives you an idea what kind of energy to expect from the effect. (Pyroelectricity uses heat instead of pressure, but it's closely related.)
Mantriur
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-18T14:10:22.227Z
Correction: It's not the pressure on the crystal being released, but a small hammer type mechanism, which then hits the crystal. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piezo_ignition)
Mantriur
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-17T09:03:41.643Z
2018-11-17T09:03:41.643Z
JulPal
<p>I just got the curiosity today to know whether the gems that produce electricity non stop without an end exist, and I have found <a href="https://www.classicgems.net/info_pyroelectric-gems.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this</a> site. </p>

<p>But I’m having doubts about it, thinking that it could be fake or true, and I need to know what’s you’re opinion regarding this. </p>

<p>Oh and, can the costumer order these types of gems as something for collection? I yes, can you share a link where to drive me to a site where I can order one of these gems? </p>

<mineralogy>
Do Pyroelectric gemstones really exist? Can they be found on web market?
Alex A
# Do Pyroelectric gemstones really exist? Can they be found on web market?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-11-16)

I just got the curiosity today to know whether the gems that produce electricity non stop without an end exist, and I have found [this](https://www.classicgems.net/info_pyroelectric-gems.htm) site.

But I’m having doubts about it, thinking that it could be fake or true, and I need to know what’s you’re opinion regarding this.

Oh and, can the costumer order these types of gems as something for collection? I yes, can you share a link where to drive me to a site where I can order one of these gems?

**Tags:** mineralogy


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2018-11-17. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

Yes, pyroelectric gems exist. No, they don't produce electricity all the time. Pyroelectric gems can generate a certain amount of electric potential when cooled or heated.

To cite Wikipedia

> The change in temperature modifies the positions of the atoms slightly within the crystal structure, such that the polarization of the material changes. This polarization change gives rise to a voltage across the crystal. If the temperature stays constant at its new value, the pyroelectric voltage gradually disappears due to leakage current (the leakage can be due to electrons moving through the crystal, ions moving through the air, or current leaking through a voltmeter attached across the crystal)

[A full list of all piezoelectric minerals can be found at the website of the Mineralogical Society of America](http://www.handbookofmineralogy.org/search.html?p=piezo_pyro)

And yes, you can buy them. Some, like Axinite, were used to remove hair and lint from objects.

There's no site like www.buypiezoelectricgems.com... So you should google them one by one and look for sellers. Or go to a gem fair.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: And if I forgot to take with me the charger, and my battery of telephone went dead during very cold winter, it is possible to use these gems to charge the telephone by using the tempeture that is outside?  
> **username_1**: Are you MacGyver? ;-) how do you want to connect your phone to the gem? And what do you think an electric potential is? And how strong do you think it is?  
> **username_0**: Sorry, I don’t know who is he. But I was thinking that they might posses a great power which I can connect the wire to one of gems and connect to telephone, and treat it as if it is a power supply. Just asking if it is possible only. And I want also to know how much voltage does it contain.  
> **username_2**: @username_0 no, you cannot charge your phone with piezoelectric minerals in realistic conditions.  
> **username_3**: @username_0 pyroelectric mens the rock produces an electric current when heated but the power is very low and to charge a phone you need a huge number of rocks connected in series so it is not usefull for charging anything.  
> **username_0**: @username_3 Is there any mineral that posses a high voltage of electricity?  
> **username_3**: no rocks can not be used to produce an useful amount of power for charging but they are used in scales to register weight(piezo electric cells)and some minerals are used as thermistors to measure heat.  
> **username_4**: @username_0: No, a rock that simply produced electricity would be a perpetual motion machine.  The electricity is produced by a change, which takes work.  That is, if you squeeze or bend a piezoelectric mineral, it produces a charge while it's being squeezed.  Stop squeezing, and the charge is static.  
> **username_5**: A good everyday example for piezoelectricity are those lighters that use a small electric spark instead of flint. When using these, you're squeezing a small piezoelectric crystal. The click before the spark is the quick release of the pressure you had applied, triggering a very short lived and weak high voltage current for the spark. It gives you an idea what kind of energy to expect from the effect. (Pyroelectricity uses heat instead of pressure, but it's closely related.)  
> **username_5**: Correction: It's not the pressure on the crystal being released, but a small hammer type mechanism, which then hits the crystal. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piezo_ignition)  

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