WEBVTT - How does the lighter in a barbeque grill work?

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<v Speaker 1>Linda dot com slash brain Stuff. Welcome to brain Stuff

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<v Speaker 1>from how Stuff works dot com where smart Happens. Hi,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Marshall Brain with today's question, how does the lighter

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<v Speaker 1>in a barbecue grill work? In a barbecue grill, you

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<v Speaker 1>normally have a push button lighter. You push the button,

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<v Speaker 1>it makes a clunking sound and a spark appears inside

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<v Speaker 1>the gas grill. How does that work? A barbecue lighter

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<v Speaker 1>uses something called piezo electricity to generate a nice spark

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<v Speaker 1>that lights the grill. Piezo in Greek means pressure, and

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<v Speaker 1>you find piezzo electric materials in a number of different places.

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<v Speaker 1>For example, all of these products depend on the piezo

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<v Speaker 1>electric effect. The push button lighter and a barbecue grill,

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<v Speaker 1>the pushbutton lighter on a cigarette lighter, piezo electric beepers

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<v Speaker 1>which are common in digital watches and just about anything

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<v Speaker 1>electronic that goes deep. Piezo electric tweeters and stereo speakers,

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<v Speaker 1>the sound generating a raise for sonar, fish finders and

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<v Speaker 1>ultrasound devices. Crystal microphones, phonograph needles, and the quartz crystals

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<v Speaker 1>used in most digital clocks, watches and timers as the

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<v Speaker 1>time base. Certain crystaline materials, like courts, rochelle salts, and

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<v Speaker 1>certain ceramics have piezo electric properties. When you apply pressure

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<v Speaker 1>to them, you get a charge separation within the crystal

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<v Speaker 1>and a voltage across the crystal that is sometimes extremely high.

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<v Speaker 1>For example, in a barbecue lighter, the popping noise you

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<v Speaker 1>hear is a little spring loaded hammer hitting at crystal

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<v Speaker 1>and generating thousands of volts across the two faces of

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<v Speaker 1>that crystal. A voltage this high is identical to the

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<v Speaker 1>voltage that drives a spark plug in a gasoline engine.

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<v Speaker 1>The crystals voltage can generate a nice spark that lights

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<v Speaker 1>the gas in the grill. In a crystal microphone, air

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<v Speaker 1>pressure deforms the crystal enough to cause very small voltage

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<v Speaker 1>changes in the crystal. These voltage changes are amplified and

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<v Speaker 1>used to record or transmit sounds. Piece of electric materials

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<v Speaker 1>also work the other way. If you apply a voltage

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<v Speaker 1>across the crystal, the crystal will change shape. The change

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<v Speaker 1>in shape is very slight in most cases, but it's

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<v Speaker 1>enough to drive small speakers. Do you have any ideas

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<v Speaker 1>or suggestions for this podcast? If so, please send me

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<v Speaker 1>an email at podcast at house stuff works dot com.

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