Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Why does a police, ambulance siren go up and down?
Q: Tradition?
A: A little, but old sirens were normally bells which sound a lot different. There's a more scientific answer.
Q: Is it because you can hear it better?
A: Yes, but why.
Q: Because it's loud?
A: No, it could be loud but make a different sound. Sirens are almost always going up and down in pitch.
A: The issue is with older people, or people with partial hearing loss.
A: Often you lose hearing at certain frequencies first.
A: By varying the frequencies you have a better chance of finding a frequency that even a person with partial hearing loss can hear.
A: A little, but old sirens were normally bells which sound a lot different. There's a more scientific answer.
Q: Is it because you can hear it better?
A: Yes, but why.
Q: Because it's loud?
A: No, it could be loud but make a different sound. Sirens are almost always going up and down in pitch.
A: The issue is with older people, or people with partial hearing loss.
A: Often you lose hearing at certain frequencies first.
A: By varying the frequencies you have a better chance of finding a frequency that even a person with partial hearing loss can hear.
