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The hidden background noise that can catch criminals

Tom Scott · 5.9M views · 2021-12-20 · 5:31

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Overview

Tom Scott explains Electrical Network Frequency analysis, where hum from the power grid in a recording is matched against grid logs to date and place it. He talks to a researcher and sets them a challenge.

On Hacker News

The go-to short, accessible explainer for mains hum forensics, linked whenever recording authenticity or timestamps come up.

Recommended by 3 HN people across 2 months · HN mentions 2022–2025

Topics

Power grid, heating & buildingsPrivacy, surveillance & cybercrimeLaw, policing & justice
Search by tags
enf analysismains humforensicspower gridrecordings

What people said

subpar · 2023-02 · Recommendation

If this is interesting to you or your kids, here's a less detailed but pretty accessible video [1] explaining how mains hum forensics work, complete with British accent. [1] [VIDEO]

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Groxx · 2023-02 · Recommendation

A video on the same subject: [VIDEO] I really enjoy Tom Scott. Everything he puts out is wonderfully concise.

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AnotherGoodName · 2022-08 · Recommendation

If you haven't already seen tom Scott's video on background noise giving the location of a recording due to power line frequencies being subtly different I recommend it. [VIDEO]

Read the original HN comment ↗

Sources

Video by Tom Scott, played through YouTube.

Data and selection notes

HN summaries and labels may contain AI errors. HN dates refer to discussions, not video publication.

HN Library: HackerTube export (2026-10-31) and open-index/hacker-news. Upstream summaries and classifications may contain AI errors.

Views, duration and playback status refresh separately from the published catalog. When an update fails, existing data remains visible.

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Rule matches identify candidates. They do not guarantee video quality or financial results.

About the library and its sources