Abstract
IN order to be audible, sounds must be restricted to a certain range of pitch. Thus a sound from a hydrogen flame vibrating in a large resonator was inaudible, as being too low in pitch. On the other side, a bird-call, giving about 20,000 vibrations per second, was inaudible, although a sensitive flame readily gave evidence of the vibrations and permitted the wavelength to be measured. Near the limit of hearing the ear is very rapidly fatigued; a sound in the first instance loud enough to be disagreeable, disappearing after a few seconds. A momentary intermission, due, for example, to a rapid passage of the hand past the ear, again allows the sound to be heard.
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The Limits of Audition. Nature 56, 285–286 (1897). https://doi.org/10.1038/056285a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/056285a0