Wikipedia:Today's featured article/July 7, 2004

Analogue disc record is a term for what is commonly called a gramophone record in British English or a phonograph record in American English. Analogue disc recording was the main technology used for storing recorded sound in the 20th century. An analogue disc record is a flat disc with inscribed spiral grooves, in which the playback process begins with the direct mechanical motion of a stylus riding within the groove as the disc rotates. The record spins at a certain fixed speed, while the needle is held on a mobile arm, which gradually moves toward the centre of the record as it follows the spiral. Since the late 1910s, both sides of the record have usually been used for playing surfaces. By the early 1990s digital media such as the compact disc surpassed the analogue disc in popularity, but analogue discs continue to be made (in limited quantities) into the 21st century. (more...)

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