Building a Matchbox Microphone Using Pencil Graphite

Lifehacker recently posted this video uploaded by video blogger DaveHax that shows us how to make a simple matchbox microphone out of a few pencils, a matchbox and, well, little else.

How a Microphone Works

Microphones have little diaphragms that move back and forth when sound waves hit it.  They turn the sound waves into electrical current and send that current through a cable, into an amplifier, and out of a speaker where the current becomes sound again, but much louder. 

How THIS Microphone Works

DaveHax uses a pencil to poke holes through the length a matchbox, then splits that pencil (and a second) open to get to the graphite.  He flattens the graphite and then sticks it through the matchbox holes.  Then, he puts a shorter piece of graphite across the flattened graphite sticks to create a diaphragm.  Using a bunch of wires, batteries and headphones, he gets the modded matchbox to produce a rough little sound.

Pretty cool, huh?