The growing realization that photoinduced bending of slender photoreactive single crystals
is surprisingly common has inspired researchers to control crystal motility for actuation.
However, new mechanically responsive crystals are reported at a greater rate than their
quantitative photophysical characterization; a quantitative identification of measurable
parameters and molecular-scale factors that determine the mechanical response has yet to
be established. Herein, a simple mathematical description of the quasi-static and time …