Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Acoustics: Science of sound in the sea

Sound requires a medium, such as air, to travel in. Here is a link to a site dedicated to the case where the medium is water. The site belongs to the University of Rhode Island (USA) and it has plenty of information for educators and students about the science of sound and the animals that make underwater sounds, such as dolphins, whales, and fish. I particularly liked the recordings of the animal sounds.

PS. Thanks to C.S. for the link!

Human Auditory System: Perfect pitch is more common than previously believed

It turns out that the ability to identify the pitch of a musical note without needing a reference note to compare to is more common than previously believed. This ability is called "perfect pitch" or "absolute pitch", as opposed to "relative pitch".

Using a testing technique adapted from studies involving infant hearing, researchers at the University of Rochester's Eastman School of Music and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences were able to test for perfect pitch in a random sample of people, including people with no musical training whatsoever. In the past, these tests were performed only on people with musical training who could identify notes by name. For more on this study, follow this link.

Saturday, August 09, 2008

Human Auditory System: Tinnitus follow-up

FYI, I added some new information to my recent post on tinnitus. It can be found here.

Friday, August 08, 2008

Admin: Posting will be light

Posting will be light for another week or so while I am on summer holidays. Back soon, when I will be "tan, rested, and ready" for more blogging.