PHYSICAL REVIEW FOCUS 3 March 2006 http://focus.aps.org/
David Ehrenstein, American Physical Society
Introductions to the Focus stories of the past week;
Visit http://focus.aps.org for the complete stories.
WHY THE INNER EAR IS SNAIL-SHAPED
Observers have long wondered whether the snail-like shape of the
cochlea--the organ of the inner ear--improves hearing or merely
saves space. Now, in the 3 March PRL, researchers calculate that
its spiral shape effectively boosts the strength of the vibrations
caused by sound, especially for low pitches.
(D. Manoussaki et al., Phys. Rev. 96, 088701)
Link to the paper: http://link.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v96/e088701
COMPLETE Focus story at http://focus.aps.org/story/v17/st8
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Copyright 2006, The American Physical Society.
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