The sonic screwdriver is a fictional tool in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spinoffs.

Throughout the series, there have been many different versions of the sonic screwdriver, as with subsequent Doctors the design of it was changed.

The first sonic screwdriver from Season 6 Episode 3 of The War Games

The sonic screwdriver made its first appearance in the serial Fury from the Deep, written by Victor Pemberton.

Ownership of the concept was retained by the BBC ; Pemberton later told an interviewer for Doctor Who Magazine, " I'm very cross that the sonic screwdriver — which I invented — has been marketed with no credit to myself.

In The Three Doctors the sonic screwdriver is almost unrecognisable as a black grip and plastic spherical head have been applied to the device.

In the DVD commentary, Letts himself cannot recognise the prop but remarks that this serial was produced out of transmission order ; this explains why the sonic screwdriver reverts to its previous appearance for one story before receiving a more permanent refit thereafter.

During the first three years of the Fourth Doctor's tenure, producer Philip Hinchcliffe further reduced the use of the sonic screwdriver.

In the final story of season 15, The Invasion of Time, the Fourth Doctor conceded, " Not even the sonic screwdriver can get me out of this one.

The Doctor's Time Lady companion Romana constructed a sonic screwdriver of her own similar to the Doctor's, first seen during the City of Death.

The sonic screwdriver was written out of the series late in season 19, in the Fifth Doctor serial The Visitation.

Saward had written out the sonic screwdriver, believing that the Doctor had " a cupboard full of them " in the TARDIS.

The Tenth Doctor joked about the Fifth Doctor's lack of sonic screwdriver in the mini-episode Time Crash, commenting that he " went hands-free " and could " save the universe using a kettle and some string.

In the Doctor Who TV Movie, the Doctor was seen to have a new sonic screwdriver with a telescopic design.

A redesigned sonic screwdriver appears in the new series, with a blue light in addition to the sound effect.

A common misconception is that the Doctor Who production team at BBC Wales were so impressed by how much more resilient the toy sonic screwdriver was than the real prop, that they obtained moulds of the original prototype of the toy to use in the 2006 series, in fact, this was not the case.

In contrast with Nathan-Turner's attitude that the sonic screwdriver should not be used as a cure-all, the new production team gave it even more functionality than previous versions which has given the series some criticism as it seems to be a deus ex machina, a literary device that is generally avoided.

In " Doomsday ", the Doctor states that the sonic screwdriver does not kill, wound or maim ; however, it is sometimes brandished in a threatening manner, such as in " The Christmas Invasion ", " The Impossible Planet ", " The Runaway Bride ", " The Lazarus Experiment " and The Infinite Quest.

In " World War Three ", when confronted by a group of Slitheen, the Doctor threatens to " triplicate the flammability " of a bottle of port wine with the sonic screwdriver, though one of the Slitheen realises he is bluffing.

At one point in " Doomsday ", a Dalek calls the screwdriver " a sonic probe " when the Doctor reveals it.

The sonic screwdriver has been the subject of jokes: in " The Doctor Dances ", Jack Harkness mocked the concept by asking, " Who looks at a screwdriver and thinks, ' Ooh, this could be a little more sonic '?

When the flamethrower that Gustav was using to attack Mister Fantastic with nearly endangered his art collection, Doctor Doom reversed the sonic weapon he planned to use on the Fantastic Four and ended up using it to kill Gustav Hauptmann.

Not all iterations of the Doctor have used the sonic on screen ; the Fifth Doctor in fact opted not to replace his after it was destroyed.

In The Sea Devils, the Doctor used it to detonate landmines ; Michael E. Briant explains that this was feasible, stating that the sonic waves shook the mines.

Exceptions include Robot ( which was the last story to be produced by Barry Letts ), where it was again used to detonate mines, and as a " miniature sonic lance " to cut out a lock.

" In " The Parting of the Ways ", the Doctor mentions that when Emergency Program One was activated, the sonic screwdriver would receive a signal from the TARDIS.

The design of the prop was meant to imply that the Master constructed it on Earth, and it was deliberately made larger than the Doctor's sonic screwdriver.

In " Utopia ", the Doctor was able to lock the TARDIS to the coordinates it had previously visited from outside using the sonic screwdriver.

Santa Dog had the strange kind of sonic weirdness he was looking for and it was played heavily on his popular ( Radio Lab ) show.

* Klaw leapt into his massive sonic converter device which was made with vibranium he bought on the open market, hoping to gain superhuman powers to combat his foes.

Recycler was also the last of a distinct sonic trilogy in the ZZ Top catalogue.

In 1931, the US Army Air Corps and General Electric tested a sonic altimeter for aircraft, which was considered more reliable and accurate than one that relied on air pressure, when heavy fog or rain was present.

Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band which was quickly embraced by the hippie movement with its colorful psychedelic sonic imagery.

* In an untitled story by Gary Russell featured in the first issue of IDW Publishing's Doctor Who comic book ( published February 2008 ), the Tenth Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to destroy a sword and later sacrifices it in order to defeat a Sycorax hunter.

* The Seventh Doctor regained his sonic screwdriver in the Virgin New Adventures novels, with its first reappearance in The Pit.

Critic Stewart Mason wrote, " Over their brilliant first three albums, Wire expanded the sonic boundaries of not just punk, but rock music in general.

The Panasonic brand was created from the elements " pan "-meaning " all "-and " sonic "-meaning " sound "-because it was first used for audio equipment.

" ( McLeese, 96 ) The second album also featured very different production from the first — the MC5 now sounded compressed and somewhat limited in their sonic palette compared to their earlier era — band members later said that Landau was overbearing and heavy-handed in production, trying to shape the group to his own liking.

For example, his use of ten harps in Beneath the 12 Mile Reef created an extraordinary underwater-like sonic landscape ; his use of four bass flutes in Citizen Kane contributed to the creepy opening, only matched by the use of 12 flutes in his unused Torn Curtain score ; and his use of the serpent in White Witch Doctor is possibly the first use of that instrument in a film score.

For the first ( and for a long time, only ) time in the band's history, Lou Barlow also composed two songs: the hardcore-influenced Lose and an acoustic sonic collage entitled Poledo that anticipated Barlow's work with Sebadoh.

The arguably atypical lyricism and sonic atonality of their first album was largely abandoned in favor of a more stripped, direct sound.

The first two discovered, desert hedgehog and Indian hedgehog, were named for species of hedgehogs, while sonic hedgehog was named after Sega's video game character Sonic the Hedgehog.

in cell culture to obtain a Islets of Langerhans | pancreatic lineage from mesoderm al stem cells the retinoic acid signalling pathway must be activated while the sonic hedgehog pathway inhibited, which can be done by adding to the Growth medium | media anti-shh antibodies, HHIP | Hedgehog interacting protein or cyclopamine, the first two are protein and the last a small molecule.

Eventually, a very coarse rock groove emerges ( triggered by the first beats of Dinger's drums ), that quickens in tempo and, after a brief sonic interruption, reaches an explosive finale.

Kyser was first to introduce the new sonic audio process called the ' sonovox ', a singing electronic voice triggered by music.

When it was first launched in 1998 as a loop-based music sequencer, Acid Pro was the first-ever automatic audio loop-based music software of its kind, where someone could simply drag-and-drop an Acid loop file ( for example a drum or bass loop ) onto a track in Acid, and that loop would automatically adjust itself to the tempo and key of the song, with virtually no sonic degradation.

On the other hand Babasónicos had in 1992 their first major breakthrough of their careers with the hit D-generación from their 1992 album Pasto, which would herald future international success for a band that would define the sound of " sonic " rock.

* Episode 5 marks the second appearance of the Doctor's sonic screwdriver, and the first time it is revealed to have multiple functions, when the Doctor uses it to tunnel through the wall of the bomb shelter.

Black Bolt discovers his brother has secretly allied himself with the alien Kree — the race whose genetic experiments first created the Inhumans — and in trying to stop an escaping Kree vessel overextends his sonic powers and causes the vessel to crash.

Already disenchanted with what he perceived to be the one dimensionality and commercially-waning popularity of the group's hard rock / proto-metal sound, Ronnie Montrose insisted on changing the formula for Paper Money by broadening the stylistic, compositional, rhythmic, and sonic range of the band, and generally toning down the high-energy intensity and metallic crunch that defined the group's first album.

" Paste Magazine praised the song, saying “ Speed of Sound, the first single from their big-stakes follow-up, X & Y, reveals the hand they ’ re playing: a piano riff as memorable as the one in “ Clocks ,” ringing guitars, martial drums, orchestral pomp and, in the center, Chris Martin ’ s keening vocal, so vulnerable and yet forceful enough to stand out from the mass of sonic detail.

* Episode 1 marks the first appearance of the Doctor's sonic screwdriver.

He quit school to pursue a sonic education, and started on a career path that would see him influence the scene that so clearly touched him in the first place.