Microphones

<p>Microphones have changed the way we hear the world. From the experiments of Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Alva Edison, through the birth of rock and roll to the explosion of podcasts and video conferencing during the COVID-19 pandemic, microphones have become integral to our modern lives.  </p> <p>In this episode, National Science and Media Museum curator Annie Jamieson takes us on a journey through the surprising story of the microphone, while host Nihal Arthanayake and air traffic controller Adam Spink reveal how microphones are essential to their working lives. </p> <p>Listen and discover how microphones changed the direction of pop music and amplified political voices, why smaller is not always better, and how spider silk might be used in the microphones of the future.  </p> <p>This episode was inspired by the <a href='https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcollection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk%2Fobjects%2Fco8430787%2Fbbc-marconi-axbt-ribbon-microphone-microphone&data=04%7C01%7CHarriet.Cash%40railwaymuseum.org.uk%7C7690efc691084368ccc008d920e7bde6%7Ce967bcc0c07041c89f7e806069f6330b%7C1%7C0%7C637577001952634838%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=AVpxNeHrdSUPKr6DtCnkTNnCb52Jtot4Wl%2BO%2FGWnFrg%3D&reserved=0'>BBC Marconi AXBT ribbon microphone</a> in the Science Museum Group Collection. The episode also features a <a href='https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co34997/marconi-reis-transverse-current-carbon-microphone-microphone'>carbon granule microphone</a> and <a href='https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co8356128/bbc-l1-lip-microphone-1937-1960-microphone'>lip microphone</a>. Our <a href='https://www.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/about-us/collection/'>incredible collection</a> contains more than 7 million items which illustrate the impact of science, technology, engineering and medicine on all our lives. </p> <p>If you would like to uncover more about how sound is created, how i