The Physical Basis of Man’s Perception of His Environment

Abstract

Man’s knowledge of what goes on around him is obtained primarily through his two main senses of sight and hearing. Take these away from him and he is left in a world which can be defined, with regard to the information that reaches him from his environment, in terms only of touch, smell, taste and sensations of heat or cold. These two primary senses, and in part the sensation of heat, are dependent on transmission by waves, of information from the environment. To avoid repetition, therefore, it seems appropriate at the outset to discuss some of the properties of these waves.