Sunday, October 11, 2020
Bekesy was right as usual
Via Eurekalert, a "new" "discovery" of something that Bekesy already discovered.
Rayleigh waves are created by impact between objects and are commonly thought to travel only along surfaces. The team discovered that, when it comes to touch, the waves also travel through layers of skin and bone and are picked up by the body's touch receptor cells. Using mathematical modelling of these touch receptors the researchers showed how the receptors were located at depths that allowed them to respond to Rayleigh waves. The interaction of these receptors with the Rayleigh waves will vary across species, but the ratio of receptor depth vs wavelength remains the same, enabling the universal law to be defined.Why would you assume that mechanical waves travel only on surfaces? When the substance is elastic, waves can travel through its interior. Skin and muscles are elastic. Tsunamis travel on the surface of oceans because water is not elastic. The wavelength relationship also should have been unsurprising. Tonotopic 'harps' and 'keyboards' are universal in vision and hearing. Each relevant wavelength has its own set of receptors and analyzers. Still, it's good to see actual verification of Bekesy, yet again. Bekesy experimented with all the senses. Most research has always focused on vision, with some attention to hearing. Touch and smell are rarely explored, and the 'extra' senses for magnetic and static fields aren't even recognized. The accompanying video is EXCELLENT. Professionally made, with clear narration and a good mix of real scenes and animations. Most research of this type includes a raw video of the experiment or phenomenon, which is interesting for neurology nerds like me. This is the first time I've seen a professional production aimed at ordinary people. ¶ 7:52 AM
