3.1+Hardware+Input+Devices+Microphones

=Strand 3: IT Systems=

Microphones
Microphones are used every where, from telephone and cell phones to recording your voice on the computer, used in radio and television broad casting, and the list goes on.

Microphones are an input device that converts sound waves into electrical impulses. There are many different types of microphones that get the sound waves into electrical impulses but they all work on the same concept that sound waves can vibrate, or move, objects. The object in a microphone that gets moved is called a diaphragm. So when the air moves do to the sound waves move the diaphragm which in turn changes the current in the circuit which is unique to each sound. The way in which the change in current is achieved is different in different types of Microphones. A simple and common one is using the diaphragm to move a magnetic coil to create a charge, basically the opposite way of a speaker. Other types of microphones, like fiber optic and condenser microphones are listed on wikipedia,