physics

CD single

CD single is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand CD single rather than just read about it. In short: A CD single is a music single in the form of a compact disc (CD). Originally the CD single standard (as defined in the Red Book) was an 8 cm (3-inch) "mini CD" (CD3); later on the term referred to any single recorded onto a CD of any size, particularly the 12 cm (5-inch) "full-size" disc (CD5).

Key takeaways

CD single belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect CD single to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of CD single from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A CD single is a music single in the form of a compact disc (CD). Originally the CD single standard (as defined in the Red Book) was an 8 cm (3-inch) "mini CD" (CD3); later on the term referred to any single recorded onto a CD of any size, particularly the 12 cm (5-inch) "full-size" disc (CD5). From a technical viewpoint, a CD single is identical to any other audio CD. The format started gaining popularity in the early 1990s, but quickly declined in the early and mid 2000s, in favor of digital downloaded singles and CD albums. Commercially released CD singles can vary in length from two songs (an A side and B side, in the tradition of 7-inch 45-rpm records) up to six songs like an EP, which would be marketed as a maxi single in some regions. Some contain multiple mixes of one or more songs (known as remixes), in the tradition of 12-inch vinyl singles, and in some cases, they may also contain a music video for the single itself (this is an enhanced CD) as well as occasionally a poster. Depending on the country of release, there may be limits on the number of songs and total length for sales to count in singles charts.

History and sales

The Mini CD single CD3 format was originally created for use for singles in the late 1980s, but met with limited success, particularly in the US. The smaller CDs were more successful in Japan and had a resurgence in Europe in the early 2000s, marketed as "Pock it" CDs, being small enough to fit in a shirt pocket. By 1989, the CD3 was in decline in the US (replaced by the 5-inch CD single, called CD5). During the 1990s, CD single releases became less common in certain countries and were often released in smaller editions, as the major record labels feared they were cannibalizing the sales of higher-profit-margin CD albums.

United States It was common in the 1990s for US record companies to release both a two-track CD and a multi-track (usually "remix") maxi CD. Pressure from record labels made singles charts in some countries become song charts, allowing album cuts to chart based only on airplay, without a single ever being released. In the US, the Billboard Hot 100 made this change in December 1998, after which very few songs were released in the CD single format in the US, but they remained extremely popular in other countries, where charts were still based solely on single sales and not radio airplay. In the year 2000, the RIAA reported that CD single sales fell by 39%, with internet downloading service Napster being blamed. In October 2001, Target, which was the fourth largest music retailer in the United States, announced that it will stop selling CD singles in many of its stores due to a fall in demand.

United Kingdom CD singles were first made eligible for the UK Singles Chart in 1987, and the first number 1 available on the format in that country was "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" by Whitney Houston in May 1987. At the end of the 1990s, the CD was the biggest-selling single format in the UK. Record companies would also release two CDs but, usually, these consisted of three tracks or more each. Smaller 3-inch CDs were made mostly in a small square case/cover form only, some including a 5-inch CD adapter to use in normal compact disc players. Although the format was not widely available in the United Kingdom, several artists have released singles in the format.

Sales figures Table shows CD single sales in the United Kingdom and as a percentage of all music formats sold.

At Q4 1996, there were 24.2 million CD singles shipped in the country. At Q4 1999 CDs made up 74.6% of single sales, with cassingle in second place and 12" singles in third place. By 2003, CD singles had significantly dropped from its peak while albums reached an all-time high. This was in part by an increase in the price of singles, which was about £4 and provided worse value for money compared to an album for £10. Asda stopped selling CD singles in 2007. Woolworths Group, which previously accounted for one third of all CD sales in the country, stopped selling CD singles in August 2008, citing the "terminal decline" of the format as customers moved to digital downloads as their preferred method of purchasing single tracks (the Woolworths chain itself would collapse the following November). In March 2011, Mercury Records announced that they were to stop manufacturing CD singles for lack of demand and loss of money on the format in 2010. In July 2009, The Guardian reported that Florence + The Machine's single 'Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)' sold a CD and 7 inch vinyl combined total of 64 copies, where it reached number 16 in the Mid-Week Chart. 'Bad Habits' by Ed Sheeran was the best-selling CD single as of September 2021 with 11,000 copies.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with CD single

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what CD single claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to CD single before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about CD single ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of CD single

In research: CD single appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses CD single in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: CD single is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Audiovisual introductions in 1987, Compact disc, Digital audio storage, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for CD single outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study CD single in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what CD single means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain CD single out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is CD single in simple terms?

Why does CD single matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study CD single?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on CD single.