Aquacoustic reverberator
The discovery of the sound recording properties of glyph crystal was a miraculous accident that birthed the field of cetalinguistics. Since then, there were several great advances in whalesong collection: the breakthrough that led to true understanding of whalesong, the creation of hydromantic songspheres, the charting of whale migration routes, the formation of the cetalinguistic libraries, and most recently the invention of the aquacoustic reverberator.
The invention of the aquacoustic reverberator was fundamental to making the study of whalesong as widespread and accessible as it is today. Before, the playback of recorded whalesongs from glyphs or spheres was a private and haphazard affair. A researcher had to ensure that no other sounds would contaminate the recording, and they also had to be strong enough singers to cause the glyph or sphere to give up what it had stored. But the reverberator, along with the designs of newer libraries with acoustics in mind, made it so that any visitor to a library, from a senior translator to a passing traveler, would be able to fully experience with total clarity any recording that the library had archived.
There are four primary components to a reverberator. First, there is a central bracket that holds the glyph or sphere in place. Second, three dishes made of electrum are placed equidistant from the bracket. These function to focus any emitted sound into more concentrated waves that are then directed back at the sphere. This feedback strengthens the signal coming from the sphere, and it soon becomes loud enough to fill an entire acoustic chamber.
Although translating via a reverberator is far more accurate and trustworthy than via a sphere or glyph on its own, there are some drawbacks to the system. The reverberator still requires an outside source for the initial sound, which means that they are largely unusable for balaceti and humans, as they are not strong enough singers to trigger a sound response from most spheres and glyphs. Reverberators were also designed with songspheres in mind rather than glyphs, and although the fundamental principles are the same, there are some key differences in the material makeup of glyphs and spheres that make some researchers wary about using glyphs in reverberators.
Significance
Cultural, archaeological
Rarity
Rare; a cetalinguistic library usually has at least one reverberator
Weight
3000 lbs
Dimensions
three 6x18 foot arms, each with a 4-foot radius dish at the end
Raw materials & Components
three electrum dishes, 4ft in radius; central pedestal for glyph/songsphere
Related Materials
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