The man in this semi-fictional vignette was Lev Sergeyevich Termen, better known in the western world as Léon Theremin. You know Theremin for the musical instrument which bears his name.

From its chance 1920s invention in Russia, the theremin beguiled Hollywood and sparked a musical revolution, writes Norman Miller. The theremin sometimes seems like an instrument from Earth’s ...

There’s nothing spookier or more haunting than the soaring sounds of a theremin, an instrument that uses electromagnetic fields to produce various pitches when you move your hands around it.

"Theremin Hero," a video game in which amateur musicians play a toy version of the strange electronic instrument, akin to "Guitar Hero," may be an idea whose time will never come. Developed by a ...

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Even if you’re not familiar with the theremin itself, it’s very ...

But first, we need you to sign in to PBS using one of the services below. How did the theremin go from science fiction movie soundtracks to influencing pop and electronic music as we know it today?

The theremin was invented as a Soviet science experiment, and later used as a tool for industrial espionage. Despite its origins, Hollywood embraced the electronic instrument in the 1950s.

Jim Parsons actually taught himself how to play the theremin for "The Big Bang Theory." In the episode "The Bus Pants Utilization" (January 6, 2011), the lead characters gather together to invent ...

Absolute madman and legend Linus Åkesson has turned a Commodore 64 computer into an actual functioning theremin, and I'm losing my goddamn mind over how cool it is. To be fair on the excitement ...

The theremin is popular for its eerie sound output and its non-contact playing style. While they’re typically built using analog hardware, [Linus Åkesson] decided to make one using the ...

The theremin, which now squeals to us with the nostalgic sounds of the space age, offered the never-heard sounds of the future for that young boy. By 1953, Moog had developed his own improved ...

The drug of choice in How To Play a Necromancer’s Theremin is bookpowder: “ground-up pages of a reality-disrupting book called The Unfashionable Western Spiral.” The effects are similar to ...