Word: analog
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1970-1979
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Bova, a science fiction writer for more than 20 years and the field's most respected magazine editor, got tired of preaching to the converted. continuing a trend shown in his last few books and by his switch last year from Analog, which appeals to a limited science fiction readership, to Omni, one of Bob Guiccione's glossy publications. Bova is aiming for the mass market with Kinsman. It's science fiction, yes, the reliable Bova blend of advanced science and backward bureaucrats, but science fiction intended primarily for the uninitiated--those sad souls who do not see the value...
This is how it works. Even the best records available today are recorded by the analog method invented by Thomas Edison about a century ago. With analog, sound is reproduced by recording the vibrations made by the sound waves, which were collected by young Tom and his associates through a horn, and then directed to a needle pressed against a metal cylinder wrapped in tin foil. The sound waves caused the needle to vibrate and to trace a wavy groove on the soft surface of the cylinder. This is kindergarten stuff, even allowing for the introduction of magnetic tape...
Digital recording shows up analog recording for the late-Victorian process it is. The new technique does not attempt to record directly the vibrations of sound waves. The sound is picked up by microphones and fed through amplifiers to a computer, which then translates the waves into a series of numbers representing the character of the wave form. These numbers are stored as binary "words." Then, when the recording is played, the computer translates these numbers back and the re-created sound waves cause the membranes of speakers to vibrate-possibly with joy. In any case, those vibrations from...
Some imperfections remain. Cooder, crazy about the sound, nevertheless reports that the digital console was mechanically ornery. Moreover, digital's full potential is muffled because recordings must still be transferred to conventional analog records. Playback equipment is a way down the road-maybe five years, maybe a little longer. Before the next decade is too far along, however, the audiophile down the block with all the latest equipment may be able to whip out a record smaller than a conventional 45 and put it on a machine that will scan its data with a laser. The sound will produce...
...cultural phenomenon, black holes also appear in slogans on T shirts and bumper stickers (BLACK HOLES ARE OUT OF SIGHT), and are the subject of banter by Johnny Carson and other TV talk show hosts. A gag advertisement in the sci-fi magazine Analog by a company named Nothingness Unlimited promoted "black-hole disposal units," invisible devices (in seven decorator colors) that suck up unlimited waste...