How does a diamond tip needle on a record player wear out when vinyl is so much softer?
In: Physics
Imagine that you have a pile of sand in front of you, and then you try to blow away the pile of sand. The sand is way stronger than air so nothing really happens, but some grains get blown off of the pile. Over time if you keep on blowing air on the pile, eventually all of the sand will be gone. The diamond is much stronger than the vinyl, but little by little the vinyl scrapes a bit of the diamond off. Additionally if there are any debris or dust on the record it can also contribute.
Both pieces wear out, but at different rates. Vinyl records wear out faster than your diamond needle: but both see wear. To this end, it is possible to overplay a vinyl to the point that the grooves are deepened – introducing static and off notes depending on the amount of times that track has been played.
The groove on a typical LP is 1/4 mile long.
1000 hours of play time equals roughly 1000km (620mi) travelled by the needle.
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