Piezo lighter voltage?

Question

How many volts does the average piezo lighter emmit? I heard it was in the neighborhood of appox. 10,000 volts.

Answer 1

You heard correctly.

The breakdown voltage of air is about 33,000 Volts per centimeter. The distance between the piezo electrode and the gas tube tip in the lighter is just about 1/3 centimeter, so the spark voltage is roughly 10,000 volts.

The voltage may be very high, but the power level is very low because the current is very low.

That is the nature of piezoelectric crystals, if they are bent they will produce very high voltages at very low currents (almost static electricity).

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