Magnetoplastic effect in NaNO2 ferroelectric crystals

This paper reports on a laser interferometric study of the effect of a dc m agnetic field (MF) on the rate of plastic deformation (creep) epsilon of Na NO2 ferroelectric crystals under compression. It is established that the ap plication of a dc MF to a loaded specimen results in an increase in the cre ep rate and that removal of the MF brings about a decrease in epsilon. Subj ecting an unloaded specimen to a dc MF beforehand also affects its strain r ate under the subsequent loading. The observed magnetoplastic effect is mos t clearly pronounced within a certain epsilon interval, and the magnitude o f this effect for the NaNO2 ferroelectric is several times larger than that for LiF crystals. (C) 2001 MAIK "Nauka/Interperiodica".