For the Grammy Awards, a scanning electron micrograph of a needle on a record

© Susumu Nishinaga/Science Photo Librar

Music gets a close-up. Groovy!

Our photo today shows a colourised scanning electron microscope image of a phonograph needle in the groove of a vinyl record. The texture along the walls of the spiral groove replicate the soundwaves as they were recorded, thus making a reproduction of sound that can be played over and over. Why are we travelling into the microscopic world of analogue sound reproduction? Because tonight, artists nominated by the Recording Academy will win Grammy Awards – with a trophy depicting the early record player, a phonograph, later known as a gramophone, which inspired the nickname of the award.