Vinyl through Electron Microscope

US 100,000× magnification & ~10 nm resolution      23/02/26

In this video Microscopy Specialist takes a look at a vinyl record, stylus, and cartridge under a hugely powerful scanning electron microscope (SEM) with up to 100,000× magnification and ~10 nm resolution! Most people are reasonably familiar with how records work, but seeing it in this level of detail really brings out the magic. Superb stuff... I wonder what else would look good under the SEM - what do you think? Here's more from the video... 
 

You'll see: 
• A stereo groove at extreme magnification • How left and right audio channels are encoded in one groove 
• Moving magnet (MM) vs moving coil (MC) cartridges 
• What mono records really look like 
• Why vinyl sounds "warm" and "airy" 
• Clicks, distortion, and inner groove physics 

0:00 - 0:58 - Introduction

0:59 - 2:27 - Our Setup

2:28 - 3:37 - Stylus Construction

3:38 - 5:53 - Vinyl Record Under SEM

5:54 - 8:01 - Why Analog Sounds Warm

 



More from Microscopy Specialist

About the author [midierror]: midierror is co-founder of Potato Audio, he makes nifty Max For Live devices, award-winning Sample Packs and hosts the 'midierror meets...' interview series speaking with all kinds of people working in sound & music. 


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