Loudspeaker

From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change

A loudspeaker, which is also called a speaker, is a device that is used to create the sound in radios, television sets, and electric musical instrument amplifier systems.

[change] How it works

Loudspeakers use both electric and mechanical principles to convert an electrical signal from a radio, television set, or electric musical instrument into sound. For a loudspeaker to produce sound, the signal from the radio, television set, or electric musical instrument needs to be connected to an electronic amplifier.

Loudspeakers are usually built by using stiff paper cone, a coil of thin copper wire, and a circular magnet. The cone, copper wire, and magnet are usually mounted in a rectangle-shaped wood cabinet. The coil of copper wire moves back and forth when an electrical signal is passed through it. The coil of copper wire and the magnet cause the rigid paper cone to vibrate and reproduce sounds.

[change] Types of loudspeakers

Some loudspeakers are designed for lower-pitched sounds, such as woofer loudspeakers or subwoofer loudspeakers. Other loudspeakers, which are called tweeters, are designed to reproduce high-pitched sounds (such as the sound of a whistle or a bird singing).

Loudspeakers for electric musical instruments are usually much stronger and heavier than loudspeakers for radios or television sets.

[change] History

Alexander Graham Bell invented the first loudspeaker in 1876. Bell invented the loudspeaker because he needed a device that would amplify sound for the telephone. In 1878, Ernst Siemens from Germany invented an improved type of loudspeaker.