Why human ears can not hear the flow of alternating current which flows at a frequency of 50 Hz?

Question

The audible frequency range of human ear is 30 to 3000 Hz. But the 50 Hz alternating current which is for domestic use is not audible. why?

Answer 1

That ac current needs to be transduced into sound energy. That is like asking the question, why can I not hear music from my stereo when I don;t have speakers attached.

The fact is that you *can* hear signal from 50-60Hz wall current in unshielded audio amplifiers. This is actually a problem for electric guitar players, and creative solutions have been devised to diminish this noise.
See this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humbucker

Done.

Answer 2

The audible frequency range of the human ear is from about 20 to 20,000 Hz.

Answer 3

Yes, electrical waves and sound waves ARE two different things, but if you've ever been standing in or near a house when the power goes out (or comes back up) you'd realize that we DO hear the electricity! We are just so used to it and it blends in with all the other ambient noises in the environment.

Tonight, when your home is quiet and you shut down the computer or TV, listen to the "quiet" for about 5 minutes, then flip the switch on the power strip or unplug the device from the wall, and you should be able to detect the difference if you have normal hearing.

Answer 4

Current flows through conductors. It is not a sound wave. It does cause electromagnetic fields, which can induce vibration in conductive materials around the current. When those vibrations occur, they are easily heard. The buzzing sound of an electric transformer or a fluorescent light are two familiar examples.

Answer 5

I don't think you're correct. Even with my bad hearing 60cps is often clearly audible. Can't comment on 50cps becasue I'm a looong way from any 50cps that I'm aware of.....like thousands of miles.

Answer 6

you could hear it if you turned it into sound with a speaker. Ears are designed to pick up sound, not electrical currents,