KS3

How to play a record with a £5 note

Part of PhysicsWaves

Watch how to play a record with a £5 note

This video can not be played

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

A one-minute video showing how to play a record with a £5 note.

Have a go

Skip image gallery

Image caption,
WHAT YOU NEED: a record player, a record and a £5 note.
Image caption,
STEP 1 - SPIN RECORD: Start the turntable spinning, but don't put the needle on the record.
Image caption,
STEP 2 - CORNER IN GROOVE: Instead place the corner of the £5 note in one of the spinning record's grooves.
Image caption,
STEP 3 - CURVE THE NOTE: Curve the note a little to get more volume.
Image caption,
STEP 4 - LISTEN TO SOUND: You should be able to hear the music on the record playing. The £5 note turns the vibrations from the bumps in the record groove directly into sound waves in the air.
Image caption,
TIP: Under a microscope you can see the groove is actually V-shaped. Usually one side of the V vibrates your left headphone while the other side vibrates the right, to give a stereo sound. Curving the £5 note points it more towards one of the sides.

This video can not be played

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

More on Waves

Find out more by working through a topic

How to make a loudspeaker
count
15 of 15
Features of waves
count
1 of 15
The electromagnetic spectrum
count
2 of 15
Ray diagrams and light transmission
count
3 of 15