SOUNDS.

TL;DR

Explore the history of sound recording, the only known recording of Abraham Lincoln's voice, and the science behind certain sounds affecting us.

Transcript

Hey, Vsauce. Michael here. And I'm with Destin in Alabama. What he's about to do is capture on a Phantom camera at a 1080 frames a second a hawk - that one - catching a target. But today we're going to talk about sound. First things first. The Raptor Center takes care of raptors that have been injured, or would otherwise not be able to survive in t... Read More

Key Insights

• 😨 The Raptor Center provides care for injured raptors that cannot survive in the wild.
• 💋 The phonautograph invented in 1859 marked the first recorded sound ever.
• 🥶 The only known recording of Abraham Lincoln's voice was made by a 9-year-old boy who witnessed his Gettysburg Address.
• 👂 Certain frequencies within unpleasant sounds, like scratching, can cause discomfort due to amplification by our ears.
• 🗺️ Sound waves cannot travel through space itself, but they can travel through the vibrations of our bodies.
• 😋 The radio antenna on Voyager I captured sounds from Saturn's rings as it passed through them.

Questions & Answers

Q: What was the first-ever device invented to record sound?

The first device to record sound was the phonautograph, invented in 1859 in Paris.

Q: How was the only known recording of Abraham Lincoln's voice made?

A 9-year-old boy named William V. Rathvon recorded himself delivering the Gettysburg Address based on his memory of hearing Lincoln speak.

Q: Why do certain sounds, like fingernails scratching on a blackboard, affect us negatively?

Recent research suggests that certain frequencies within the scratching sound, similar to the human voice, cause discomfort due to the amplification by our ear canals.

Q: Can sound be heard in outer space?

Sound waves cannot travel through the vacuum of space, but they can be transmitted and experienced through vibrations in the body.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The Raptor Center takes care of injured raptors, such as bald eagles, that cannot survive in the wild on their own.

• The invention of the phonautograph in 1859 marked the first-ever recording of sound.

• The only known recording of Abraham Lincoln's voice was made by a 9-year-old boy who witnessed his Gettysburg Address.