When 2 tones occur together, a 3rd tone, with a pitch corresponding to the difference in their frequencies, is sometimes heard. This tone is referred to as the missing fundamental because the lister***er perceives this lower tone (fundamental) although there is no actual vibration at this frequency. This effect is discussed in many sensation and perception textbooks. The nonlinearities of recording arid playback equipment may actually restore the supposedly missing fundamental in recorded demonstrations of this effect. In this article, we describe an inexpensive and valid demonstration of the missing fundamental, using a British police whistle.
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