How many years did the phonautograph, invented in 1857, predate Thomas Edison's phonograph?
Answer
Twenty years
The phonautograph, created by Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville and patented in 1857, captured sound mechanically as a visual representation. This invention preceded Thomas Edison's development of the phonograph, which focused on auditory recording and playback, by exactly two decades. This temporal gap highlights that the initial scientific focus was purely on data capture and visualization, whereas Edison's subsequent work addressed the commercial and auditory reproduction goals.
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