Previously, we unraveled the trusty VHS tapes, but this time we are diving into the circular icon known best as CD! So if you are wondering how this round piece of shiny plastic held your favorite movies in the past, stick around and discover how.
The origin of the compact disc (CD)
In the same timeline as the VHS, around the 1970s, Sony and Philips collaborated to create a new digital audio format to replace vinyl records and cassette tapes. In this development, they were guided to create a compact, durable, and high-quality medium for storage.
A few years later, the first compact disc, the Red Book, was unveiled in the 1980s. Why was it named that way? Well, it was basically named after the color of its cover when it was first published. With this, it contained your classic tech specs that covered: the size of the disc, recording details, sampling, and other standards.
From Looney Tunes Official GIPHY
To give you a bit of cute history, the CD was initially sized at 115mm by Philips. However, Sony stepped in and insisted that the longest musical performance should be able to fit in, which was Beethoven’s entire 9th Symphony at 74 minutes. From there, its size increased to 120mm, which was still portable compared to the older vinyl record.
How did these things work?
It’s complicated; however, a brief explanation would be that it combines digital coding and laser technology.
From Feliks Tomasz Konczakowski Official GIPHY
To be more specific, the coding process included a thing called Pulse-code modulation. The process involved sampling the song or video into a series of binary digits. Once that is accomplished, it is then encoded onto the thin layer of aluminum coated in clear plastic. The digital code was stored as microscopic pits, etched into the aluminum layer, using a technique called optical lithography.
This encoding process is precise, so you should never scratch the disc because it can destroy the microscopic pits in these layers, leaving you with a corrupt disc! Can you imagine the thought and execution behind the small device? It is simply amazing.
From SpongeBob SquarePants Official GIPHY
What made CDs groundbreaking was the technology behind them; instead of using analog recordings like vinyl records, CDs employed digital technology. Now we face future improvements of what we had then, utilizing the intangible space known as the internet or cloud technology. It's scary but, at the same time, super exciting.
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