A quartz crystal is a passive electronic component that exploits the piezoelectric effect to vibrate at a precise mechanical resonance when subjected to an alternating voltage. These crystals are cut and polished to specific dimensions to dictate their exact resonant frequency. Engineers use them as the primary timing reference in clock generators, radios, and microcontrollers because they offer excellent frequency stability over temperature changes.
Heard on the job
The microcontroller is failing to boot because the 16 megahertz quartz crystal isn't oscillating.
Also heard as
- crystal