I recently discovered Josephson microphones.  These Santa Cruz-based engineers are doing groundbreaking design work. Pictured here is the anechoic chamber used for testing the sensitivity of each mic.  Click through the photo for a link to a fascinating Wired article on their process.

Exciting new research striving to reinvent microphones based on the mammalian hearing system.

 ”A microphone is a device that converts mechanical waves into electrical ones. It consists of a diaphragm attached to a coil which sits in a magnetic field. When a sound wave hits the diaphragm, it moves the coil, generating a current. This signal is then amplified by conventional electronic methods.

But an interesting question is why the amplification has to be done electronically. Why not mechanically?”