Scientists recreated audio recording 134 years ago

Team Research Laboratory. Lawrence at Berkeley, California, successfully retrieved a 134-year-old audio recording. Historic audio was recorded in 1878 by a phonograph designed by Thomas Edison. The phonograph consisted of a cylinder wrapped in foil. Sound was recorded on the surface of the foil with a needle.



Due to the fragility of the foil, the recordings were only suitable for a few reproductions. Using a scanning device and special software, scientists created a 3D model of channels in foil and recorded original sound tracks.

Scanning process:

As for the audio recording itself, this is a 23-second clarinet solo recording and, presumably, the voice of political writer Thomas Mason, who reads the tales of “Mary Had a Little Lamb” and “Old Mother Hubbard” and others.
Using modern sound reproduction technologies, these Audio can be heard at the Museum of Innovation and Science in New York.

You can listen to the recording here .

More information about the scanner can be found in the description .

All information is taken from the laboratory website .