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

The sonic screwdriver was first introduced in 1968, and was used regularly throughout the Second Doctor's tenure.

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.

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.

Oliveros has written books, formulated new music theories and investigated new ways to focus attention on music including her concepts of " Deep Listening " and " sonic awareness ".

" Sonic Youth has t-shirts with the cassette and sonic youth written under it.

One critic has written " Machine Gun " offers " a heavy-impact sonic assault so aggressive it still knocks listeners back on their heels decades later.

He stated that " most of the album was not particularly well written " but that " the band's overwhelmingly loud sonic attack occasionally made up for the weakness in the material.

In " Smith and Jones ", the sonic screwdriver burns out after the Doctor uses it to amplify the radiation output of a hospital X-ray machine.

In the " Series Three concept Artwork Gallery ", when referring to the burnt out sonic screwdriver, Peter McKinstry says " the green crystal structure visible under the shattered dome refers back to the TARDIS console crystal.

* Johnny test Episode sonic johnny when Johnny tried out a scooter when he tried out a mach 9 feature when he took place 10 years later when it is aired in 2005.

But the seeming sonic chaos is an illusion — to construct the songs, the Magic Band rehearsed twelve hours a day for months on end in a house with the windows blacked out.

A vehicle flying at greater altitude will generate lower pressures on the ground, because the shock wave reduces in intensity as it spreads out away from the vehicle, but the sonic booms are less affected by vehicle speed.

Rubin's production combined the sonic economy of punk rock with the malevolent bellow of a tricked out ghetto blaster, providing the sonic blueprint for an entire generation of Hip-Hop producers.

After completing three vocal tracks with the label, based upon rough sonic themes created by the production team, Thornton had a falling out with the label, and gave the label recordings he had made two years previously, consisting of Thornton rapping and goofing off, in order to complete his contract.

* The parallel-processor nature of the X-MP and its ability to solve multi-variate simultaneous equations rapidly is used in Tom Clancy's novel, The Hunt for Red October, when ' Skip ' Tyler uses the USAF's X-MP machine to work out the performance and sonic characteristics of the October for Jack Ryan on behalf of the CIA in return for both profit and the chance to evaluate the vessel should it successfully defect.

Before Tom can even tell him of the existence of his daughter, Sean lashes out at Tom with his sonic scream for not having taken better care of Maeve.

IGN concluded that " If this is the last Sonic game in these declining Dreamcast years, it's satisfying to know that the DC didn't go out with a bang, but with a sonic boom.

The word silencer in reference to gun suppressor remains in widespread use, although it has since fallen out of favor with some, especially among the firearms industry, being replaced with the more literally accurate term sound suppressor or just suppressor, because a " sound suppressor " does not " silence " any weapon, rather it eliminates muzzle flash and reduces the sonic pressure of a firearm discharging.

The kids then find out that the " sonic " is just an old French learning record.

Years later, Ulysses resurfaces with a sonic emitter / gun on his right wrist as a replacement prosthetic device for his missing hand that can create whatever objects or creatures Klaw can conceive, out of sound.

Jazzmasters, along with Jaguars and their imitators, fell out of fashion among players during the 1970s largely due to their " old-fashioned " appearance and sonic characteristics.

Before Tom could even tell him of the existence of his daughter, Sean lashed out at Tom with his sonic scream for not having taken better care of Maeve.

He was immune to Banshee's sonic powers, as each other's powers cancel each other out on contact.

* Melody Maker-4 stars out of 5-" Intense lunacy and sonic dementia .… It must've been mad-absolutely insane.

Benton and his men knock out the bunker's machine gun nests while the Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to detonate the mines surrounding the entrance.