MP3

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MP3 A form of audio compression based on the MPEG format for video. In an MP3 file the differences in sound signal that the human ear is unable to detect are filtered out. On a normal CD the sampling rate is about 44 000 times per second. In an MP3 file 16 000 times per second is used for music and 10 000 times per second for voice, and a file can be compressed to about one-tenth of its original size. MP3 files are a highly popular format for downloads of music from the Internet. MP3 players, capable of storing large numbers of music tracks in flash memory, and playing the tracks through earphones, are also popular.