Have you heard of Jacques Curie, the pioneer of piezoelectricity?
Is it still necessary to point out that innovation is not the exclusive domain of a single scientific discipline or a single individual, but is often a collective endeavor that brings together different perspectives and scientific fields? This was certainly true of Jacques Curie, a physicist and mineralogist who was appointed lecturer at the University of Montpellier in 1883, defended his dissertation in Paris in 1888, and was awarded a chair in physics and mineralogy at the University of Montpellier in 1904.
Jacques Curie played a crucial, though sometimes overlooked, role in groundbreaking discoveries that are still widely used today. Jacques Curie was the brother of Pierre Curie (Marie Skłodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie shared the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics with Henri Becquerel for their research on radiation). Jacques Curie was the co-discoverer of the piezoelectric effect [1] in 1880, while they were both working at the Faculty of Sciences in Paris.
Jacques Curie’s contribution was essential [2]: in particular, he had more experience than his brother in the study of pyroelectricity.
This was not merely a theoretical discovery, for a few years later, an instrument was developed capable of measuring minute quantities of electricity (10⁻¹³ A). This instrument thus made it possible to establish a highly precise measurement system, the likes of which had never been achieved before. “To measure the very weak currents that can be passed through air ionized by uranium rays, I had at my disposal an excellent method studied and applied by Pierre and Jacques Curie.” Pierre and Marie Curie, 1923.
It was thanks to this instrument that it became possible to detect the presence of two new radioactive elements in uranium ores: polonium and radium. The instrument was subsequently used in numerous experiments until 1950. (Image: University of Montpellier collection, read the description)
We are thus at the intersection of several disciplines—physics, Electrical Engineering, and Chemistry—which has led to significant scientific advances. But the story doesn’t end there, because even though the term didn’t yet exist, the Curie brothers took a proactive approach to commercialization by founding the Société Centrale des Produits Chimiques (SCPC, a company that ceased operations in 1996!), which made it possible to market this measurement system. Beyond the discovery of new chemical compounds, the piezoelectric effect has revolutionized numerous fields, with a wide range of applications: sonar, oscillators, gas igniters, microphones, and watchmaking with quartz watches…
Thus Jacques Curie, who was buried at Saint Lazare Cemetery in Montpellier in 1941, quietly contributed to a true technological revolution by combining theoretical and experimental sciences. Let us honor the memory of Jacques Curie—especially here in Montpellier.
Eighty years later, more than 750 scientists from ISITE MUSE’s MIPS Division (Mathematics – Computer Science – Physics – Systems) are now contributing to building our future through their research.
[1] Pierre and Jacques were interested in the electrical properties of crystals, and they soon discovered that quartz, as well as other rarer crystals such as tourmaline and topaz, generate electrical charges when compressed or stretched along certain specific axes.
[2] Shaul Katzir, “The Discovery of the Piezoelectric Effect,” Archives for the History of Exact Sciences, vol. 57, 2003, pp. 61–91