Project IRENE Using optical scanning to digitize ethnographic field recordings on wax cylinders

3D map of Cylinder Surface

Description:
The image shows 7 grooves as if they were unwrapped from around the cylinder and flattened out. The changes in color correspond to changes in the height. The change in height would guide the needle to move up and down and it is that motion that produces sound. This image was made from stitching together 6000 height measurements of a 1.8 mm line on the cylinder as the cylinder rotated. It represents less than half a rotation around the cylinder.
Actual Dimension:
80 mm deep x 1.8mm wide x .045mm tall
Exhibit Tags:
diagram and method