Apparatus and method for measuring force with static electric field

Abstract

A technique for measuring mechanical force by exploiting the static electric polarization developed by piezoid elements in response to application of mechanical pressure, the magnitude of the polarization being representative of the magnitude of the mechanical force applied to one or more piezoid elements by disposing the piezoid elements adjacent to an electron transmission medium capable of sustaining an electric field internally, in which the polarization developed by the piezoid elements repel particles of like charge from the adjacent surface of the transmission medium and attract particles of opposite charge to the adjacent surface. By supplying a current of charged particles to one end of the transmission medium and separately collecting the charged particles toward different surfaces of the transmission medium, the strength of the polarization, which is representative of the strength of the applied mechanical forces, can be measured. The technique can be used with a single piezoid element to measure a single mechanical force, such as mass or gauge or absolute pressure, or a plurality of piezoid elements to measure the net of a plurality of forces, such as differential pressure. The piezoid elements are shaped and mounted to enhance the integrity, accuracy and sensitivity of the apparatus.