A
gramophone record (also known as
phonograph record,
vinyl record, or simply
record) is an
analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed modulated
spiral groove usually starting near the periphery and ending near the centre of the disc. When made of
polyvinyl chloride, such a disc is also known as a
vinyl record.
As recording technology evolved, more specific terms for various types of phonograph records were used in order to describe some aspect of the record either its correct rotational speed ("16?&_160;R.P.M.", "33?&_160;R.P.M.", "45&_160;R.P.M.", "78&_160;R.P.M.") or the material used (particularly "vinyl" to refer to records made of polyvinyl chloride, or the earlier "shellac records" generally the main ingredient in 78s). Other terms such as "Long Play" or L.P. and "Extended Play" or E.P. were coined to describe multi-song records which were capable of playing for far longer than the single song per side records, which typically didn't go much past 4 minutes per side. An L.P. can play for about thirty minutes per side. The 7" 45rpm format normally contained one song per side but a 7" EP could achieve recording times of 10 to 15 minutes at the expense of attenuating and compressing the sound to reduce the width required by the groove. EP discs were generally used to make available songs not on singles including songs on LPs albums in a smaller, less expensive format for those who had only 45 rpm players. The large center hole on 7" 45rpm records allows for easier handling by jukebox mechanisms. The use of the term "album" no longer has any relation to the physical format (typically compact disc), but rather the length of the album and the number of songs.
Sizes of records in America and the UK are generally measured in inches, usually represented with a double prime symbol, e.g. a 7-inch or 7" record which are generally 45rpm records. LPs were 10" records at first, but soon the 12" size became by far the most common with 78s generally being 10" but also 12" and 7" and even smaller—the so called 'little wonders.'[4]
A device utilizing a vibrating pen to graphically represent sound on discs of paper, without the idea of playing it back in any manner, was built by Edouard-Leon Scott of France in 1857. While the mechanism, known as a phonautograph, was intended solely to depict the visual characteristics of sound, it was recently realized that this depiction could be digitally analyzed and reconstructed as an audible recording. Just such an early phonoautogram, made in 1860 and now the earliest known audio recording, has been reproduced using computer technology.
