Abstract
The energy of electrons We emitted by ferroelectric crystals is calculated and measured. Its magnitude for LiTaO3 under pyroelectric effect condition reaches 120 keV without any extraction field and may be changed greatly by crystal thickness variation or by changing the distance between the emitting crystal surface and the collector. It is shown that the escaping electrons are accelerated in the field of unscreened pyroelectric charge and the electron energy is determined by the crystal surface potential. An artificial β-source based on this phenomenon is discussed.