Conversion of a sound wave to an electric signal occurs when the sound wave strikes the transducer surface and is termed ______.

Conversion of a sound wave to an electric signal occurs when the sound wave strikes the transducer surface and is termed ______.

• A. Curie effect
• B. Piezoelectric effect
• C. Doppler effect
• D. Snell effect

Answer: (B)

The direct piezoelectric effect is at work here: certain crystals in the transducer (such as piezoelectric ceramics) generate an electrical voltage when they are mechanically deformed by incoming sound waves. This converts the acoustic energy of the sound wave into an electrical signal that the imaging system can process. The other terms describe different phenomena—Doppler effect is a frequency shift due to motion, Snell’s law describes refraction at boundaries, and Curie-related effects aren’t the mechanism used for converting sound to electricity in standard transducers.

The direct piezoelectric effect is at work here: certain crystals in the transducer (such as piezoelectric ceramics) generate an electrical voltage when they are mechanically deformed by incoming sound waves. This converts the acoustic energy of the sound wave into an electrical signal that the imaging system can process. The other terms describe different phenomena—Doppler effect is a frequency shift due to motion, Snell’s law describes refraction at boundaries, and Curie-related effects aren’t the mechanism used for converting sound to electricity in standard transducers.