Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

To: SeekAndFind

Phones don’t have “dials” anymore either.


4 posted on 01/31/2025 8:25:42 AM PST by READINABLUESTATE (‘Never trust a man whose uncle was eaten by cannibals’)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]


To: READINABLUESTATE

We could probably sit down and come up with many linguistic anachronisms in common use today.

As long as people know what they mean, what difference does it make? Language evolves out of language.


7 posted on 01/31/2025 8:28:36 AM PST by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies ]

To: READINABLUESTATE

...or cameras film.


31 posted on 01/31/2025 8:44:29 AM PST by GingisK
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies ]

To: READINABLUESTATE

Here’s something fun.

Phone lines used to be actual wires going into the home. The range of frequencies they could carry will minimal loss is from 300—3000 Hz (many times called 3kHz flat).

Now, a dial tone was 90 Hz which had high loss and shouldn’t have been able to be heard but the dial tone’s strength ‘sounded’ so loud. How come?

The human ear is also a nonlinear mixer which can take multiple tones and produce the sum and difference products that can be discerned by the hearer. So the real ‘dial tone’ was TWO TONES - one at 250Hz and the other at 340Hz - the difference being 90Hz which the hearer discerns.....


111 posted on 01/31/2025 10:27:08 AM PST by Gaffer
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies ]

To: READINABLUESTATE

And we still talk about video in terms of “tape.”


113 posted on 01/31/2025 10:32:29 AM PST by Bigg Red (My long-time tagline has been removed and will be stored on my home page as it has proved true.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson