Despite being the inventor of one of the most vital communication tools of all time, Alexander Graham Bell believed his Phonophone&#x2014;a machine that transmitted speech on a beam of light&#x2014;was "the greatest invention \[I have ever made\], even greater than the telephone." Thus, upon hearing aboutartist [Arcangel Constantini](http://www.arc-data.net/)'s Phonotube, an update to Bell's 1880 device, we imagine the telephone creator patting his stomach approvingly in his decked-out grave.

The Phonotube is a light instrument-cum-sound sequencer that looks exactly like that&#x2014;a flourescent tube is attached to a small machine in which photocells transform gaseous light into sound. It is touch-sensitive, and moving your fingers across it turns body heat into pulsing sounds, perfect for experimental and/or noise musicians who want to just feel the vibes they're making, man.

To get a little more specific, the tube is covered with sound patterns that change shape as it spins at a variety of speeds. These patterns get transduced into sound by light excitation&#x2014;"electronic circuits as pre-amps photo-cells and photodiodes, voltage control oscillators, relays, circuit Filters, and 1bit systems," explains the Constantini [in an interview](http://we-make-money-not-art.com/archives/2014/04/phonotube.php#.U2ELB3ddW9i) at We Make Money Not Art.

Though the sounds it makes are by no means, um, sonorous, we could imagine the Phonotube being employed for some captivating A/V performance pieces. We know Bell would be grooving out if he were there.

Phonotube Live : Calit2 auditorium UCSD " three junctures of remix" 2013.

http://www.arc-data.net/phonotube/

Phonotube are experimental instruments for live audio and visual performatic actions, constructed as Luminous instruments and sound sequencers , that use fluorescent light tubes and LED strips as light sources.
the tubes are covered with negative ofsset, printed with sound patterns that spin at variable speed. The oscillation from the light emitted by these patterns is transduced to sound processes by light excitation,
through a variety of electronic circuits as pre-amps photo-cells and photodiodes, voltage control oscillators, relays, circuit Filters, 1bit systems.  The technological principle is based on the photophone, patented by graham bell 
and inspired by visuals experimenters as Norman Maclaren,that used the optical sound of cinema, reversing the process to experiment with it. 
In the history of the invention of electronic instruments, the study of light and its behavior as a particle or wave, and its application to sound processes, had a relevant position and is currently, 
one of the areas of scientific research with the greatest potential in human communication,

 

proyect by arc.luzzz

 

Phonotube son instrumentos experimentales para acciones performaticas sonoras y visuales en vivo , construidos como instrumentos lumínicos y secuenciadores sonoros, que utilizan tubos de luz fluorescente y tiras de leds como fuentes de luz, los tubos están cubiertos con negativos de ofsset, con patrones sonoros impresos que giran a velocidad variable , la oscilación de la luz que emiten estos patrones es transducida por la  excitación lumínica a procesos sonoros mediante una variedad de circuitos electrónicos como pre-amplificadores de foto-celdas y foto-diodos , osciladores por control de voltaje, relevadores ,circuitos de filtraje, sistemas de 1bit. el principio esta basado en el photophone patentado por graham bell y experimentadores visuales como Norman Maclaren, que utilizaba el sonido óptico del cine, revirtiendo su proceso, para experimentar con el, en la historia de la invención de instrumentos electrónicos , el estudio del comportamiento como partícula u onda de la luz y su aplicación a procesos sonoros  a tenido un lugar relevante y en la actualidad el es una de las areas de investigación científica con mayor potencial en la comunicación humana,

PhonoTube

The Phonotube will appear in public at the [Sight + Sound Festival](http://www.sightandsoundfestival.ca/en) in Montreal next month.

See more of Arcangel Constantini's work [on his website.](http://www.arc-data.net/)

_[Pedro Reyes' Disarm: Turning Weapons Into Instruments](http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/show/pedro-reyes-disarm-turning-weapons-into-instruments)_

_[Wearable Digital Instruments That Can Be Played Through Movement](http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/wearable-digital-instruments-that-can-be-played-through-movement)_

_[Group Turns Natural Elements Into Musical Instruments](http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/artists-use-human-energy-to-bring-nature-to-life)_

h/t [We Make Money Not Art](http://we-make-money-not-art.com/archives/2014/04/phonotube.php#.U2ELB3ddW9i)

[@zachsokol](https://twitter.com/zachsokol)

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A machine Alexander Graham Bell called his "greatest invention" gets an update with the Phonotube.

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The Phonotube Turns Light Into An Instrument

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The Phonotube Turns Light Into An Instrument

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