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Literally, to hear with two ears. Opposite of MONAURAL HEARING. The fact that the ears are some distance apart allows the localization of sound by registering the slight differences in time, PHASE and INTENSITY of the sound striking each ear. Each of these parameters has a different area of effect, intensity being a major factor above 1500 Hz (see SOUND SHADOW), while PHASE DIFFERENCEs (which are equivalent to time differences) are used in localizing lower frequency sounds.
When a system with a natural vibrating FREQUENCY is stimulated by an outside force of the same frequency, the system can be set in a motion called VIBRATION. As the frequency of the stimulus closely approaches that of the system, OSCILLATION occurs, which reaches a maximum AMPLITUDE at the natural resonant frequency.
The subjective impression of FREQUENCY, in the same sense that LOUDNESS is the subjective sense of the INTENSITY or AMPLITUDE of a sound. As such, pitch is a psychoacoustic variable, and the degree of sensitivity shown to it varies widely with people. Some individuals have a sense of remembered pitch, that is, a pitch once heard can be remembered and compared to others for some length of time; others have a sense of absolute pitch called PERFECT PITCH.
For any PERIODIC wave the wavelength is the distance from a given point in the wave to the corresponding point in the next cycle of the wave, frequently represented by the Greek letter lambda. It may also be thought of as the distance the sound travels in one CYCLE or PERIOD.