Recordings made by Alexander Graham Bell Heard for the First Time

Smithsonian/YouTube ^ | Jan 13, 2012

[a fool in paradise]

[freedomlover]

“And yes, the creepy recording is on YouTube somewhere.”

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And yes, it still sounds better than Yoko Ono.

[cynwoody]

Where is that keyword?

The LBNL scientist in the second part of the video, Carl Haber, uses the word "non-invasively" to describe their approach of imaging the grooves with a special camera and then analyzing the imagery with software to filter out the noise and reproduce the audio represented by the squiggles in the grooves. The goal is to digitize the Library of Congress's vast record collection and do it without risking damage from the touch of a stylus.

Haber and another scientist, Vitaliy Fadeyev, repurposed technology originally developed to analyze the tracks left by elementary particles coming out of particle accelerator experiments. More here.

[cynwoody]

http://www.firstsounds.org/press/032708/release_2008-0327.pdf

According to your link, the scientist who speaks in the second part of the posted video, Carl Haber, was also among those responsible for playing back de Martinville's recordings.

It's not clear that de Martinville even attempted to build a playback device. His phonautograph was really the first audio oscillograph. And it's purpose was to study sound, not to play it back.

[Dr. Sivana]

His phonautograph was really the first audio oscillograph. And it's purpose was to study sound, not to play it back.

Yes. But whether he ever intended to play it back or not, he did in fact make the first known audio recordings. I kinda liken it to that guy who invented the sealed metal can decades before anyone dreamed up a can opener.