Re: "laser" microphone

<genericaudioperson@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I think this was in Mix or EQ recently. I saw a picture in the
magazine. Something about air going through a tube and being scanned
by a laser. I would think the tube would produce non-linearities, and
would be susceptible to wind and air currents. It seems kind of
wild. Anybody know anything about "laser" microphones?

EM had a recent article. Basically, everybody wants a method of directly
digitizing at the microphone.

There are a bunch of proposed methods out there, including lasers bouncing
off of particles suspended in the air, and a laser system that measures
air density by seeing reflections when the optical impedance of the air
changes. Also we have the gadget with the laser reflected off a diaphragm
which strikes a plate with binary patterns cut in in; optical sensors on
the other side get a value proportional to the position which is proportional
to the displacement of the diaphragm.

I don't expect to see any of these soon. They all have various noise
and linearity issues so far. And they don't _really_ solve any actual
problems yet.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
.

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