- A phonograph, later called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910), and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of recorded sound. The sound vibration waveforms are recorded as corresponding physical deviations of a helical or spiral groove engraved, etched, incised, or impressed into the surface of a rotating cylinder or disc, called a “record”. To recreate the sound, the surface is similarly rotated while a playback stylus (or “needle”) traces the groove and is therefore vibrated by it, faintly reproducing the recorded sound. In early acoustic phonographs, the stylus vibrated a diaphragm that produced sound waves coupled to the open air through a flaring horn, or directly to the listener’s ears through stethoscope-type earphones.
- Paraguay-Latin America: The Case of Dr. Mengele (PDF) (cia.gov)
The search for German war criminal Josef Mengele has centered on South America, long a haven for Nazi fugitives. Paraguay has been a special target for investigators. Mengele reportedly lived there during the early 1960s, and some Nazi hunters believe he still resides in Paraguay under official protection. Mengele, a physician, is accused of selecting tens of thousands of inmates at the Auschwitz concentration camp for medical experiments or extermination in gas chambers.