Marius Lavet (February 8, 1894 in

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, , ; or simply ; ) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population of 147,284 (2020). Its metropolitan area () had 504,157 inhabitants at the 2018 ...

– February 14, 1980 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

) was a French

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

who invented in 1936 the principle of

stepper motor A stepper motor, also known as step motor or stepping motor,Clarence W. de Silva. Mechatronics: An Integrated Approach (2005). CRC Press. p. 675. "The terms ''stepper motor'', ''stepping motor'', and ''step motor'' are synonymous and are often u ...

. He studied at

Supélec École supérieure d'électricité (, ), commonly known as Supélec (), was a French graduate school of engineering. It was one of the most prestigious grande écoles in France in the field of electrical engineering, energy and information scien ...

, the School of Electric Power, French private engineering school. A

can turn an electrical impulse in angular movement. This type of engine is very common in all devices where it is desirable to control the speed or position in open loop, usually in positioning systems. The invention of Lavet is enshrined in French Patent FR823395 and was instrumental, among other applications, for the development of watches with quartz mechanisms, using the principle known as the piezoelectric. Quartz watches dominate the world market today, due to their low price and high precision.

External links

Brevet fr 823395

L'Association Marius Levet
1891 births 1980 deaths Knights of the Legion of Honour French electrical engineers Scientists from Clermont-Ferrand {{France-engineer-stub