[Help] Calculating impact force

[themadquark]

I am currently working on an experiment with piezoelectricity and was wondering how I would measure the force applied to the crystal. I have been tapping the crystal with a screw driver and was wondering how I would calculate the force of these taps as I cannot find the amount of displacement in the crystal. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[berkeman]

I am currently working on an experiment with piezoelectricity and was wondering how I would measure the force applied to the crystal. I have been tapping the crystal with a screw driver and was wondering how I would calculate the force of these taps as I cannot find the amount of displacement in the crystal. Any help is greatly appreciated.

You could rig up a ratcheting spring mechanism. The spring compresses with the tap, and the distance it compresses is measured with a ratcheting rod of some sort...

 

[berkeman]

On second thought, you don't need a ratchet. You just need some marking mechanism to mark a rod as the spring compresses. Measure how far the mark goes.

BTW, this will just give you the peak force. You would need to video tape it to figure out the force versus time graph...

 

[themadquark]

Thanks, I was thinking to rig up a sort of spring and just use Hooke's Law. I'm guessing I could probably use a ruler and sheet of paper to mark the spring's peak and compression.