The production of electrostatic potential differences in sodium chloride crystals by plastic compression and bending

Abstract

Single crystals of NaCl were plastically deformed in uniaxial compression or in bending, and the potential differences developed between suitably placed electrodes on their surfaces were measured. The mode of deformation was studied by etching, and for bent crystals pit-counts were compared with the number of dislocations required to accommodate the bend. The results are consistent with a model in which dislocation multiplication occurs primarily in the interior of the crystal and the edge dislocations so produced carry a negative charge of the order of one electronic charge per 60 atomic planes.