What is the Portable phonograph really about?

Walter Van Tilburg Clark’s short story, The Portable Phonograph, is a tale about the last survivors in the world after the total destruction of war. The older man has a record player that he brings out once a week for the listening pleasure of the group. He is very proud of this treasure.

What is the setting of the story the Portable phonograph?

This story takes place in a post apocalyptic world. The actual story takes place in Doctor Jenkins refuge, a small dugout with a canvas door. The social setting holds the ritual of listening to the phonograph very high.

When was the portable phonograph written?

1950
Clark’s “The Portable Phonograph,” which imagines the aftermath of a devastating war, was published in the short-story collection The Watchful Gods (1950) and was much anthologized in the following decades.

What is the tone of the portable phonograph?

At the beginning of the story, the author describes a setting which is bleak, dark, derelict and war-torn. This immediately creates a sombre tone, and perhaps a foreboding mood.

What is the difference between a phonograph and a record player?

Phonograph, also called record player, instrument for reproducing sounds by means of the vibration of a stylus, or needle, following a groove on a rotating disc. A phonograph disc, or record, stores a replica of sound waves as a series of undulations in a sinuous groove inscribed on its rotating surface by the stylus.

What type of irony is used at the end of the story the portable phonograph?

The true irony in the story is when Jenkins grabs the lead pipe for violence when he is trying to save the phonograph; using violence as an answer is what destroyed humanity in the first place. This story takes place in a post apocalyptic world.

Can a phonograph play records?

CAN YOU PLAY VINYL RECORDS (45’s, LP’s, 33.3) on a Wind-up Gramophone? The Answer is “NO”. Even with modification to the motor speed Governor inside the Gramophone, a speed of 33 or 45 rpm required for vinyl records is not possible. Turntable speed is not the main problem.

How does a phonograph record work?

How does a phonograph work? Sound is collected by a horn that is attached to a diaphragm. The sound causes vibrations in the air that travel down the horn causing the diaphragm to vibrate. The diaphragm is connected to a stylus and pressed into a cylinder covered in wax (or alternatively a thin layer of tin foil).

Where did Hermann Thorens invent the phonograph?

In 1883, the Thorens family business was first registered in Sainte-Croix (Ste-Croix), Vaud, Switzerland by Hermann Thorens. An initial producer of musical boxes and clock movements (which they were still producing in the 1950s), they started producing Edison-type phonographs in 1903.

What kind of record player does Thorens make?

As of 2019, Thorens continues to produce well-regarded turntables for playback of vinyl and 78rpm gramophone records . Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thorens.

What are the features of the new Thorens tonearm?

The new tonearm features gimbal 4-point pivot bearings, magnetic anti-skate control and a new detachable magnesium headshell, the TP60. Effective mass of the new arm is rated at 16.5 grams. Refinements to the oscillator motor control circuitry are made.

What was the gimbal design of the Thorens tp16?

Essentially the same gimbal pivot design as the TP16, used by the TD160, but with a weight-on-a-string design to counteract the skating forces that all pivoting tone arms must deal with. The TP16 of the TD160 used a pair of opposing magnets, one fixed, the other adjustable for position in location about a metal ring.

What is the Portable phonograph really about? Walter Van Tilburg Clark’s short story, The Portable Phonograph, is a tale about the last survivors in the world after the total destruction of war. The older man has a record player that he brings out once a week for the listening pleasure of the group. He is…