Today I decided to do some research about the ears, and how sound waves travel in the ear. These are the following:
The ear is one of the most important sensual organ that picks up sound waves from our surrounding area. This then turns those waves of bouncing air molecules signals into electrical nerve signals.
There are 3 main sections of the ear:
The Outer Ear: are the outer frame of the ear, which collects simple sound waves. The shape helps to funnel the sounds to the ear drum causing it to vibrate.The Middle Ear: on the other side of the ear drums. this is the part where sound energy is converted into mechanical energy, which are helps by 3 bones, which are named after there shape: à The Hammer
à The Anvil
à The Stirrup
The Inner Ear, also known as the cochlea. It is a fluid- filled spiral about the shape of a pea. It has around 20,000 tiny sensitive hairs waving around inside the cochlear fluid. Each of these hairs is a nerve that picks up specific information about the vibration, converting it into electrical impulses before sending signals to the brain. This will allow the brain to interprets the impulses to what we know as sounds.
Informations are found in the following websites:
Catherine Schmidt-Jones.2010. Sound and Ear. http://cnx.org/content/m12365/latest/
[accessed 8/2/11]
Unknown. 2008.Sound and Ear. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_sound_waves_travel_through_the_ear
[accessed 8/2/11]
