Note 95 — A CYCLOPÆDIA OF PRACTICAL RECEIPTS, &c. VOLUME II (continued 20)

According to the ‘Polytechnic Review,’ Mr Edison does not appear to have yet solved the problem of reading the phonograph record by sight. He states that although a specific form exists for each articulated sound, the chief difficulties arise from the varying indentations or marks caused by the same sound. Amongst the circumstances giving rise to these results are: the same sound uttered by different people, the manner in which it is spoken, the distance of the mouth from the instrument, the force with which it is spoken, or the speed with which the barrel is rotated.