Compact Discs AKA: CDs

Compact disc's were invented to improve the listening quality of audio recordings. Before CDs wax cylinders, vinyl discs and narrow lengths of tape had been used. These had all proved to be inadequate mainly because they either melted in the summer, or next to a fire in winter, distorted, got scratched or chewed up when playing. Something had to be done.

The Prehistory of the Comapct Disc

CD's rely on the development of a number of technological advances to percipitate the arrival of the disc we all now have in abundance. Much of this was done by scientific minds working theoretically at the start of the 20th Century and then inventors coming up with various devices to make the technology a possibility.

In 1928 Harry Nyquiest published a paper Certain Topics in Telegraph Transmission Theory. His theory contained proof that the technology used in todays audio cd's could work. In 1938 1937 A. Reeves invented the pulse code modulation (PCM), a technology used by computers and CD's for audio in the present day. Although it use at the time is far from that to which it is put today this is possible one of the first inventions to move audio reproduction into the field where non-contact to the source material is possible. It prevceded magnetic digital tape by 10 years.

In the 1960's James T. Russell, an avid Music lover, became so frustrated by the wear and tear his collection was taking he set about to do something about it. He realised the best way to limit wear and tear was to avoid physical contact between the parts ¹ he was familiar with punchcards and realised that a binary system could relay the information required, if only he could find a way to make the binary compact enough.

Hey Presto we can now listen to sounds whenever we want, or pour liquid over, use as frisbees, place mats, mice exercisers, or Christmas decorations without fear of our collection losing its playability. There are just some of the many alternative uses for CDs which are too numerous to mention here.

This revolution soon spread and people realised that they could fit more onto these discs than the old vinyl ones. People then started to add more info either extra hidden tracks or video clips onto these. Then people realised they could compress the information even more and let a computer decode it all, so the CD-Rom was born.

The end result of all this innovation is that people now listen to music that is designed to sound scratchy², to the untrained ear, and the death of the b-side, because nobody has yet found a way to play a CD on both sides³.