Microphone
part · 1876 · Electric age
Turns sound vibrations into an electrical signal.
What it is made of
- Diaphragm — has part. The diaphragm vibrates under a sound wave.
- Analog-to-digital converter — has part. Digital microphones contain an ADC.
Principles and materials it uses
- Capacitance — uses. In a smartphone’s MEMS microphone, the vibrations of the diaphragm change the capacitance between it and a fixed plate.
- Piezoelectric effect — uses. Piezo microphones turn sound pressure into voltage.
- MEMS — uses. Smartphone microphones are MEMS devices.
- Sound wave — uses. It picks up sound waves.
- Carbon — is made of. A carbon microphone uses carbon granules.
- Copper — is made of. The wires are copper.
Where it is used
- Telephone — is part of. The handset microphone turns the voice into an electrical signal.
- Smartphone — is part of. Microphones for calls and noise cancellation.
- Smart speaker — is part of. An array of microphones.
- Hearing aid — is part of. A microphone.
- Cochlear implant — is part of. A microphone.
- Karaoke — is part of. A microphone.
- Intercom — is part of. A microphone.
- Mobile phone — is part of. A microphone.
What it is a kind of
- Condenser microphone — includes. A microphone.
- Dynamic microphone — includes. A microphone.
- Carbon microphone — includes. A microphone.
- Hydrophone — includes. An underwater microphone.
Things built in a similar way
- Loudspeaker — works like. A loudspeaker and a microphone are inverse transducers: sound ↔ electrical signal.