Thinking Solid Mechanics

Flexoelectric materials are dielectrics that behave like piezoelectrics under non uniform strains like in bending. Unlike piezoelectric materials which need to possess special crystal structures, flexoelectricity is universal  --- all dielectrics can potentially be flexoelectric. Unfortunately, flexoelectricity manifests at very small length scales.  On the other hand, electrets are dielectrics with permanent electric charges embedded in them either naturally or during fabrication. In this webinar, Prof Pradeep Sharma from the University of Houston discusses the exciting idea of creating soft flexoelectrics using specially designed electrets.