When was the capability to hear historical sounds from phonautograms finally realized using digital technology?
Answer
In the 21st century
For nearly 150 years, the phonautograms captured by Scott remained silent, visual artifacts; Scott himself assumed sound could not be reproduced from them. The ability to finally hear these historical recordings arrived much later through modern digital technology, specifically in the 21st century. Researchers involved in the First Sounds project utilized sophisticated high-resolution scanning to map the exact coordinates of the trace, which specialized software then translated back into time-domain wave data, effectively enabling virtual playback of the needle's path.
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