31 min listen
How do my ears sense direction?
FromCrowdScience
ratings:
Length:
33 minutes
Released:
Apr 12, 2024
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
How do we know where a sound is coming from? Another chance to hear this ear-opening episode, exploring a question from CrowdScience listener Chiletso. One day, he heard his son bounce a ball and instantly knew the direction it was travelling. How? Anand Jagatia sets out to discover what makes left, right, up and down sound so different. First, he gets blindfolded, so Alan Archer-Boyd, former auditory scientist and lead engineer at BBC R&D, can put his sound localisation skills to the test. It turns out that having two ears and pinnae, those flappy bits of cartilage on the side of your head, help a lot. Professor Eric Knudsen shares how the barn owl’s asymmetrical ears allow it to hunt mice, even in complete darkness. And Anand uncovers how far he can push his own spatial hearing. Blind activist and researcher Thomas Tajo teaches him how to echolocate like a bat, and Dr Lore Thaler explains what is going on in the brain of experienced echolocators. This programme was originally broadcast in March 2023. Presented by Anand Jagatia
Produced by Florian Bohr for the BBC World Service Image: Boy with hands at his ears
Credit: Silke Woweries/Getty Images
Produced by Florian Bohr for the BBC World Service Image: Boy with hands at his ears
Credit: Silke Woweries/Getty Images
Released:
Apr 12, 2024
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
Where Do All Our Vegetables Come From?: Have you ever seen a Brussels sprout growing in the wild? Neither has listener Pogo. by CrowdScience