The major legacy of Jacques Curie is the discovery of the
piezoelectric effect with his brother
Pierre in 1880. The two brothers were then laboratory assistants at the Faculty of Sciences of Paris, under the direction of
Charles Friedel. The accounts of their discovery generally give Jacques Curie only a minor role in favor of his brother Pierre. Doubtless the comparison between the latter's brilliant career and the more quiet one of Jacques gives some reason for this, however there is no evidence that Jacques was limited to a minor role: In particular he had more experience than his brother in the study of
pyroelectricity. In fact it is almost impossible to clearly separate the contributions of the two brothers as they constantly shared their ideas. According to Shaul Katzir, and Egon Ritter von Schweidler. == See also ==