Autosave: 2025-01-02 17:31:19

This commit is contained in:
thomasabishop 2025-01-02 17:31:19 +00:00
parent c1db187707
commit be2714cbf0
810 changed files with 228 additions and 12 deletions

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---
tags: [sound, analogue, physics]
created: Thursday, January 02, 2025
---
# 738d0481_sound_recording_as_wave_phenomena
When the microphone captures alterations in sound pressure and converts it into
an electric signal, we have a scenario where the same formal or mathematical
relationships in the phenomena (amplitude, frequency, wavelength) are being
expressed in two different modes of matter.
This is quite profound especially as the resulting electrical waveform is
_identical_ to the original sound wave. This is effectively what enables
accurate playback. We can convert between the two mediums seamlessly providing
we captured their initial expression accurately.
It's like two different people doing the same dance:
In air: p
- The dancers are air molecules
- They move back and forth in waves of compression and rarefaction
- Their "dance pattern" is the sound wave
In wire:
- The dancers are electrons
- They move back and forth creating waves of voltage
- They perform the exact same "dance pattern"

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@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ To record sound, we convert the change in air pressure into an electrical signal
by means of a microphone. Effectively, the same natural waveform is converted
from one medium (the vibration of air molecules) into another medium (electrical
charge in a field) whilst retaining the same morphology. See
[Recording and processing sound]().
[Recording and playback of sound](Recording_and_playback_of_sound.md).
The resulting electrical signal is analogue: it has a continuous and variable
frequency and amplitude and thus can have any value at any given moment.
@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ used to record the measurement is the **bit-depth**. Each measurement is rounded
to the nearest available digital value. CDs have a depth of 16 bits. Thus each
measurement can be one of $16^2 = 65,536$ possible values.
With sampling at a given bit-depth established, the **bitrate** can be derived.
With sampling at a given bit-depth established, the **bit-rate** can be derived.
This is the sampling rate (number of measurements per second) divided by the
number of bits per sample (bit-depth), multiplied by the number of channels.
@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ $$
Or 1.4 Mb/s
> Even with a high bitrate (as with CDs) the process still necessarily involves
> Even with a high bit-rate (as with CDs) the process still necessarily involves
> a loss of information when converting sound from analogue to digital. However,
> given a high enough value for the sampling rate and bit-depth, the differences
> are imperceptible to the human ear.

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---
tags: [sound, analogue, physics]
created: Thursday, January 02, 2025
---
# Recording and playback of sound
## Analogue
### Recording
The microphone converts sound waves into a continuous electrical signal.
The signal drives the recording equipment.
In the case of a vinyl recording: the signal drives a cutting head that carves a
groove into the master disk.
In the case of a tape recording: the signal drives electro-magnets that align
magnetic particles on the tape.
In both cases, **the recording medium physically mirrors the shape of the sound
wave**.
### Playback
In the case of vinyl, the needle follows the groove, moving up and down to
recreate the electrical signal.
In the case of tape, the magnetic patterns induce electrical current in the
playback head.
In each case, the signal is transferred directly to amplifiers and speakers.
## Digital
### Recording
Mostly covered in [Binary encoding of sound](Binary_encoding_of_sound.md).
An important point to note is that the binary encoding that results from the
sampling is lasered into the CD as microscopic impressions and depressions (pits
and lands)
### Playback
A laser in the reader reads the pits and lands and converts them back to binary
numbers. A DAC then converts the numbers back into a continuous electrical
signal which is then channelled to the amplifiers and speakers.
## From recording to production of storage medium
With analogue production recordings would be made onto tape. Multiple takes are
recorded, mixed and edited. This results in a master tape which is the final
version of the recorded sound.
This then goes to a mastering engineer for mastering which creates the master
mix. This consists in optimising the sound for the given format (vinyl or tape).
Also includes adjusting frequencies, levels and adding spacing between tracks.
Then the master disk enters production. A recording is made onto lacquer disc
which is very delicate. Often known as the "acetate". This is coated in metal to
create the "metal master", after various processes this goes to the pressing
plant who press vinyl copies from it.
Each stage can introduce subtle variations, especially with re-pressings.
Re-pressings require new stampers from the master which may have degraded in the
interim. Plus there is a limit to the amount of pressings possible with a given
stamper. The earlier pressings are therefore less degraded making them more
valuable.
## Degradation
With tape and vinyl each playback wears the medium, degrading the quality of the
captured signal. With CDs, there is no degradation and every copy is a perfect
copy of the original signal. However this capture, necessarily contains less
information than the analogue version because of sampling.

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@ -13,14 +13,16 @@ computer science.
![not-by-ai-badge](static/not-by-ai-alternative--light.svg)
**Build ID:** cad1eefd-a429-432d-ab3c-0841f6b6f238
**Build ID:** eae3c214-e7de-4efe-ad0c-420770267aa7
**Published:** Wed 01 Jan 2025 16:46:38
**Published:** Thu 02 Jan 2025 17:31:18
### Recent edits
- [[Audio_file_formats]]
- [[738d0481_sound_recording_as_wave_phenomena]]
- [[Binary_encoding_of_sound]]
- [[Recording_and_playback_of_sound]]
- [[Audio_file_formats]]
- [[Type_hinting]]
- [[Working_with_JSON_in_Python]]
- [[SQLite]]
@ -29,11 +31,9 @@ computer science.
- [[Dynamic_and_static_websites]]
- [[User_agent]]
- [[Architecture_of_the_World_Wide_Web]]
- [[Network_packet_analysis_tools]]
- [[What_can_the_ISP_see]]
### All notes (511)
### All notes (513)
- [[0716531c_rewilding_the_internet]]
- [[241fe1a3_the_Web_versus_modem_BBSs]]
@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ computer science.
- [[4a3dc316_key_figures_ARPANET]]
- [[4da22434_from_ARPANET_to_Internet]]
- [[653c0b1d_host_protocols_of_ARPANET]]
- [[738d0481_sound_recording_as_wave_phenomena]]
- [[82f9c228_dissolution_of_ARPANET]]
- [[861cc26e_ARPA_origins]]
- [[API_Gateway]]
@ -395,6 +396,7 @@ computer science.
- [[Read_command__in_Bash]]
- [[Reading_files_in_Python]]
- [[Reciprocals]]
- [[Recording_and_playback_of_sound]]
- [[Recursion]]
- [[Redirect_to_dev_null]]
- [[Redirection_in_Bash]]

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---
tags: [sound, analogue, physics]
created: Thursday, January 02, 2025
---
# 738d0481_sound_recording_as_wave_phenomena
When the microphone captures alterations in sound pressure and converts it into
an electric signal, we have a scenario where the same formal or mathematical
relationships in the phenomena (amplitude, frequency, wavelength) are being
expressed in two different modes of matter.
This is quite profound especially as the resulting electrical waveform is
_identical_ to the original sound wave. This is effectively what enables
accurate playback. We can convert between the two mediums seamlessly providing
we captured their initial expression accurately.
It's like two different people doing the same dance:
In air: p
- The dancers are air molecules
- They move back and forth in waves of compression and rarefaction
- Their "dance pattern" is the sound wave
In wire:
- The dancers are electrons
- They move back and forth creating waves of voltage
- They perform the exact same "dance pattern"

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@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ To record sound, we convert the change in air pressure into an electrical signal
by means of a microphone. Effectively, the same natural waveform is converted
from one medium (the vibration of air molecules) into another medium (electrical
charge in a field) whilst retaining the same morphology. See
[Recording and processing sound]().
[Recording and playback of sound](Recording_and_playback_of_sound.md).
The resulting electrical signal is analogue: it has a continuous and variable
frequency and amplitude and thus can have any value at any given moment.
@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ used to record the measurement is the **bit-depth**. Each measurement is rounded
to the nearest available digital value. CDs have a depth of 16 bits. Thus each
measurement can be one of $16^2 = 65,536$ possible values.
With sampling at a given bit-depth established, the **bitrate** can be derived.
With sampling at a given bit-depth established, the **bit-rate** can be derived.
This is the sampling rate (number of measurements per second) divided by the
number of bits per sample (bit-depth), multiplied by the number of channels.
@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ $$
Or 1.4 Mb/s
> Even with a high bitrate (as with CDs) the process still necessarily involves
> Even with a high bit-rate (as with CDs) the process still necessarily involves
> a loss of information when converting sound from analogue to digital. However,
> given a high enough value for the sampling rate and bit-depth, the differences
> are imperceptible to the human ear.

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---
tags: [sound, analogue, physics]
created: Thursday, January 02, 2025
---
# Recording and playback of sound
## Analogue
### Recording
The microphone converts sound waves into a continuous electrical signal.
The signal drives the recording equipment.
In the case of a vinyl recording: the signal drives a cutting head that carves a
groove into the master disk.
In the case of a tape recording: the signal drives electro-magnets that align
magnetic particles on the tape.
In both cases, **the recording medium physically mirrors the shape of the sound
wave**.
### Playback
In the case of vinyl, the needle follows the groove, moving up and down to
recreate the electrical signal.
In the case of tape, the magnetic patterns induce electrical current in the
playback head.
In each case, the signal is transferred directly to amplifiers and speakers.
## Digital
### Recording
Mostly covered in [Binary encoding of sound](Binary_encoding_of_sound.md).
An important point to note is that the binary encoding that results from the
sampling is lasered into the CD as microscopic impressions and depressions (pits
and lands)
### Playback
A laser in the reader reads the pits and lands and converts them back to binary
numbers. A DAC then converts the numbers back into a continuous electrical
signal which is then channelled to the amplifiers and speakers.
## From recording to production of storage medium
With analogue production recordings would be made onto tape. Multiple takes are
recorded, mixed and edited. This results in a master tape which is the final
version of the recorded sound.
This then goes to a mastering engineer for mastering which creates the master
mix. This consists in optimising the sound for the given format (vinyl or tape).
Also includes adjusting frequencies, levels and adding spacing between tracks.
Then the master disk enters production. A recording is made onto lacquer disc
which is very delicate. Often known as the "acetate". This is coated in metal to
create the "metal master", after various processes this goes to the pressing
plant who press vinyl copies from it.
Each stage can introduce subtle variations, especially with re-pressings.
Re-pressings require new stampers from the master which may have degraded in the
interim. Plus there is a limit to the amount of pressings possible with a given
stamper. The earlier pressings are therefore less degraded making them more
valuable.
## Degradation
With tape and vinyl each playback wears the medium, degrading the quality of the
captured signal. With CDs, there is no degradation and every copy is a perfect
copy of the original signal. However this capture, necessarily contains less
information than the analogue version because of sampling.