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White Noise
The term white noise is most commonly used in the scientific literature to describe the properties of sound. The term is an analogy to color naming of frequencies in the visual light spectrum. Although white in the color spectrum is used to indicate the simultaneous presence of all visual frequencies of light, white noise refers to the intensity of sound across a range of frequencies. However, there are important differences in applying this color naming strategy to sound. As anyone who has used a prism knows, each of the frequencies of light is simultaneously represented in white light, and through refraction, these different frequencies of light might be revealed as distinct colors. However, white noise means more than just the simultaneous presentation of all sound frequencies; it also means the presentation of equal intensity of sound across some specified range of sound frequencies (measured in hertz). To the human ear, white noise is generally described as sounding like a swooshing or hissing sound.
Scientific Application
White noise is one of the most common sound patterns referenced in scientific literature. However, white noise is not typically used as the primary stimulus; rather it is most frequently used as a control variable. White noise is used to control the auditory experience by masking extraneous noises and delivering a fairly equivalent intensity of sound stimulation across the frequency spectrum. It is usually impossible to control completely nuisance sounds generated from sources outside the laboratory as well as those sounds generated by the subject themselves. To overcome this problem, researchers have attempted to reduce sound contamination via various physical sound overlineriers. Once reduced to some manageable level, white noise is presented at intensity slightly higher than the unwanted sounds, preventing them from being perceived.
Although less common, white noise is sometimes used as a primary stimulus rather than just as a control variable for masking noise. For instance, white noise, when presented at low intensity, can facilitate habituation of tinnitus. When used as a primary stimulus in psychophysiological research, bursts of white noise have been shown to be more effective in eliciting a startle response than pure tones.
Confusion over the Term White Noise
The term white noise is commonly used by the lay public as a very general term for any type of ambient background auditory stimulation. Many commercially available products are advertised as white noise generators that create sound like waterfalls, rain, and so on. This more broad use of the term creates some confusion when it makes its way into the scientific literature. In some areas of science, white noise is used to refer to general ambient background noise rather than more strictly referring to auditory stimulation at equal intensity across the frequency range.
In some scientific settings, the term white noise might be used to describe characteristics of sound other than just those of equal intensity. White noise has been used to refer to the probability that a frequency is presented across some range of time rather than the intensity of sound across some range of frequencies. Because this use of the term involves the probability of stimulus presentation, various distributions (e.g., Guassian) might be used to define that probability.
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