Layered Perovskites Surprise Scientists With Disappearing Polarity Under Strain

Spontaneous electric polarisation sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie. But this is science, not fiction - and ferroelectric materials have the ability to spontaneously polarise under strain. That ability makes the materials useful for capacitors that go into a host of applications, from ultrasound machines to cameras to fuel injectors. Although scientists had thought they understood ferroelectricity, a team of Northwestern University materials scientists discovered a new paradigm.