The ability of certain materials to develop a permanent electric charge or polarization that can be reversed by applying an external electric field.
From 'ferro-' (iron, metaphorically meaning permanent) + 'electricity' (from Greek 'elektron' meaning amber). The term was established in 1920s physics when scientists discovered this phenomenon in certain crystals and ceramics.
Ferroelectricity was discovered almost by accident in 1920 when physicist Joseph Valasek was studying a mineral called Rochelle salt—it turned out to have this weird ability to flip its electrical polarization!
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