Fascinated with all things having to do with the electromagnetic spectrum… Ran across this clip the other day, which visualizes audio wavelengths spanning the full range of human hearing, from frequencies down to 20hz, all the way up to 20khz.
Due to the limitations of my own ears, when both low and high extremes are being played, those tones remain totally inaudible to me. Bottom end comes on fairly smoothly, while at those higher frequencies, the tone fades in and out, probably reflecting certain particulars of my own damaged hearing. Comforting to know after taking this ‘hearing test’ at least most of the range of normal human sound is still available to me.
From a visual perspective, this video provides some great entertainment as it shows the wavelength become shorter and shorter, as the frequency continues to climb higher. I try to imagine how increasingly shorter wavelengths extend beyond those seen in this video, passing through sound waves altogether, up into radio and microwaves, and on to waves of rainbow light. Teeny, tiny little waves, vibrating out their visible frequencies. Too Cool!
But then, there are some sections of the visible light spectrum I’ve also never seen, due to red-green color blindness. It’s a funny thing, knowing how some areas of experience are available to others, but due to personal limitations, remain inaccessable to myself. So I wonder how much reality is right here, before me now, just beyond my perception?
