Subject: Re: question on localization with "horns" From: "Didier Depireux, PhD" <ddepi001@xxxxxxxx> Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2007 14:12:20 -0500 List-Archive:<http://lists.mcgill.ca/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=AUDITORY>noam sobel wrote: > Dear list > > I remember once reading about an old (19th century?) > study where "horns" inserted into the ears were used > to improve auditory spatial localization in humans, as > a result of the artificially increased distance > between the ears. > Not exactly what you are looking for, but if you are trying to illustrate that it's easier to localize sounds with more widely separated ears there's a museum in Het *Netherlands that documents early listening devices * for acoustic detection of airplanes. http://www.museumwaalsdorp.nl/en/airacous.html In particular, look at the extreme examples of horns in http://www.museumwaalsdorp.nl/en/waalsdor.html or at http://www.museumwaalsdorp.nl/images/tjechoak.gif . In the back you have widely separated ears, in the front you have a barn owl type of set-up with asymetric ears ( picture from the front in http://www.museumwaalsdorp.nl/images/goerz.gif ) Didier ___ Didier A Depireux ddepi001@xxxxxxxx 20 Penn Str - S218E http://www.theearlab.org Anatomy and Neurobiology Phone: 410-706-1272 (lab) University of Maryland -1273 (off) Baltimore MD 21201 USA Fax: 1-410-706-2512
