A piezoelectric gas lighter turns a button press into a short electrical pulse. A spring-driven striker hits a piezoelectric ceramic element; the resulting voltage is connected to an electrode near a grounded burner or counter-electrode. This page follows that mechanical sequence and compares measured electrical quantities. It does not predict whether a particular gas mixture will ignite.
Electric Gas Lighter Interactive Calculator
Follow the spring-striker mechanism and compare measured pulse voltage, energy and electrode gap. The outputs describe electrical quantities; they do not certify gas ignition.
Equation Used
- Voltage and electrical pulse energy are entered measurements.
- Equivalent ideal capacitor energy relation, with no residual charge.
- Average gap field, not a local-field or breakdown calculation.
- Illustrative spring-striker geometry and event timing.
No universal breakdown-voltage or ignition-success rule. The spark trace is illustrative, and the mechanical stroke is slowed and schematic.
From button press to ceramic impact
The cutaway shows a sliding blue button sleeve, an orange drive spring, a grey striker and a fixed purple ceramic element. While the striker is latched, pressing the sleeve compresses the drive spring. A cam surface on the sleeve retracts the spring-loaded latch pins. The released striker accelerates into the ceramic impact face. A separate return spring brings the sleeve back and its pickup shoulder draws the striker back into the catch.
This simplified section illustrates the spring-striker and sleeve-return principle in Murata patent US3729639A, figures 1–3. The patent uses split-ring springs and guide notches around the striker; their radial release is shown schematically here so the sequence is visible. The construction dimensions and slow animation timing are illustrative.
The upper electrode detail is enlarged separately. The gap follows the entered dimension. A violet spark trace marks the impact event as a visual explanation of the intended pulse, not a claim that a discharge will occur for every set of inputs. No flame or successful-ignition indicator is inferred.
What the calculator can compare
Enter measured pulse voltage and electrical pulse energy, the electrode gap and an appropriate reference energy benchmark. Output cards give mean gap field, an equivalent ideal capacitor and its stored charge, and the ratio of pulse energy to the chosen benchmark.
These quantities help describe a pulse. They cannot replace an ignition test under the actual gas composition, flow, pressure, electrode shape and circuit conditions. The reference benchmark is supplied by the user and must apply to the test conditions; it is not a universal fuel constant.
Electrical quantities and their limits
Mean electric field is V/g, with voltage in kV and gap in mm. This is only an average across the gap. Electrode curvature makes the local field nonuniform, so a fixed kV-per-mm rule is not used as a pass/fail ignition threshold.
For an equivalent ideal capacitor storing energy E at voltage V, E=½CV² and Q=CV. With E in mJ and V in kV, C=2000E/V² pF and Q=2000E/V nC. These are equivalent values, not a measurement of ceramic capacitance or the actual delivered charge waveform.
The energy comparison is E/Eref. A ratio greater than one only says that entered pulse energy exceeds the entered reference value. Residual voltage, mechanical-electrical coupling, pulse duration, leakage and the gas/electrode conditions affect energy delivery and ignition. No success probability is calculated.
Example: 15 kV across a 3 mm gap
At 15 kV, 3 mm and 1 mJ, the mean field is 5 kV/mm. The equivalent ideal capacitance is 8.889 pF and its stored charge is 133.33 nC. Against a 0.25 mJ reference, the energy ratio is 4.
Those four outputs describe the entered pulse and comparison. They do not establish that the gap breaks down or that a flame starts. Increasing the gap lowers the average field without changing the entered pulse energy; changing voltage changes the equivalent capacitance required to store that energy.
Model scope
The mechanical animation is a recognizable operating sequence, not a stress analysis or a timed impact simulation. Spring force, hammer velocity, ceramic stress and pulse shape are not inferred from the electrical sliders. The two springs and latch are drawn with enlarged clearances to make their roles visible.
Other electric lighters use battery-powered high-voltage circuits or a moving electrical contact. They are different mechanisms. This page concentrates on a push-button impact piezo igniter and does not imply that every stove or lighter uses it.
Electric lighter questions
Why is there no “ignition passed” result?
Voltage, gap and total energy alone do not specify the gas mixture, local electric field, discharge timing or energy delivered to the gas. A single ratio cannot certify ignition.
Does a larger energy ratio mean a larger flame?
No. The ratio is an electrical comparison with a user-entered reference, not a flame size or ignition probability.
Why does the animation still show a pulse at low settings?
The flash marks the illustrated impact event. It illustrates timing only; a discharge is not predicted from these inputs.
Does the button directly crush the ceramic?
In this spring-striker arrangement, the button first stores mechanical energy and releases a hammer. The brief impact loads the ceramic.
Primary construction and electrical references
Murata, US3729639A: Piezoelectric voltage generating device, especially figures 1–3, documents the moving sleeve, spring-driven striker, split-ring latch pins and return spring. The animation simplifies their presentation rather than claiming exact production dimensions.
Philips, Piezoelectric Ceramics application book (1974), chapter 3, discusses impact igniters, electrical energy and the dependence of ignition on discharge and gas conditions. Its ideal capacitor energy relation is used here only as an explicitly labeled electrical equivalent.
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