Piezoelectric and pyroelectric properties of protein amino acids as basic materials of Soft State Physics

Abstract There are claims in the scientific literature that many biological materials are ferroelectrics, and that ferroelectricity, along with piezo-and pyroelectricity, are a fundamental property of biological materials. The best way to tackle this general problem is to start from the very beginning, namely from protein amino acids (20 in number) which are the basic elements in biology (basic elements of Soft State Physics). Dielectric, piezoelectric and pyroelectric properties of protein amino acids are discussed. As an example, electromechanical behavior of glycine and phonon echo experiments in L-alanine are considered.