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Photomechanical effect

Open-knowledge reference entry

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionApr 3, 2025
Entity authorityQ7187827 ↗
Source-derived summary

Photomechanical effect is the change in the shape of a material when it is exposed to light. This effect was first documented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1880. Kenji Uchino demonstrated that a photostrictive material could be used for legs in the construction of a miniature optically-powered "walker".

The most common mechanism of photomechanical effect is light-induced heating.

Photomechanical materials may be considered smart materials due to their natural change implemented by external factors.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Photomechanical effect” as open-knowledge reference entry. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Photomechanical, effect and Open-knowledge.

Editorial reviewA practical starting point whose main value is the path it opens into stronger specialist and primary sources. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1880—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Photomechanical, effect and Open-knowledge providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Photomechanical effect”, the useful work is to connect “open-knowledge reference entry” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 3, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q7187827. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1880.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

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Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Photomechanical effect”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Photomechanical effect primary sources, Photomechanical effect archive and Photomechanical research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Photomechanical effect” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.