The Hang is a unique and beautiful sounding instrument developed in Switzerland in 2000. They are extremely rare and hard to get a hold of.  Here’s how to build a $27 version of one using a propane tank.  Original instructions here.

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?”