The musical instument,the Theremin,as heard on The Beach Boy's song "Good Vibrations"..?..?

Question

And the original Star Trek TV series soundtrack..and still used today..Was originally invented for another purpose..What was it?

Answer 1

The theremin was originally the product of Russian government-sponsored research into proximity sensors. The instrument was invented by a young Russian physicist named Lev Sergeivich Termen (known in the West as Léon Theremin) in 1919, after the outbreak of the Russian civil war.

Answer 2

oooooooooo - eeeeeeeeeeee - oooooooooo boom-BooM-BOOM

I think the theremin was always designed to be a musical instrument. It was the first electronic instrument. According to something I heard on the radio years ago, it was designed as a joke using similar technology to proximity detectors.

See this wiki for more info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theremin


If you want to try building one as a project, the circuit diagram is at:

http://www.uneeda-audio.com/thersche.pdf
(doesn't look so hard)