photograph of S. S. Stevens in the smaller anechoic chamber
Date: circa 1943
Inventory Number: 1997-1-1910
Classification: Photograph
Subject:
Maker: Stanley Smith Stevens (1906 - 1973)
Maker: Psycho-Acoustic Laboratory, Harvard University (1940 - 1962)
Cultural Region:
Place of Origin:
Dimensions:
0.1 x 25.3 x 20.7 cm (1/16 x 9 15/16 x 8 1/8 in.)
print 2: 0.1 x 25.3 x 20.7 cm (1/16 x 9 15/16 x 8 1/8 in.)
Description:
Black and white photograph of Professor S. S. Stevens in the smaller anechoic chamber in the basement of Memorial Hall, Harvard University, circa 1943.
The chamber contains a repeating pattern of triangular solids alternating between solids with horizontal and vertical edges presenting to the room. The floor consists of a metal grate above what may be the same general geometric pattern.
Stevens, wearing a pinstripe suit, is sitting in a chair the middle of the room. On one side of the chair is a desk which Stevens is using as a writing surface. Also on the desk is another small apparatus with an upright metal shaft culminating in several pieces. To the left of Stevens is a cart with a large box-like apparatus with two rectangular surfaces slightly recessed from the rest of the face of the box.
The chamber contains a repeating pattern of triangular solids alternating between solids with horizontal and vertical edges presenting to the room. The floor consists of a metal grate above what may be the same general geometric pattern.
Stevens, wearing a pinstripe suit, is sitting in a chair the middle of the room. On one side of the chair is a desk which Stevens is using as a writing surface. Also on the desk is another small apparatus with an upright metal shaft culminating in several pieces. To the left of Stevens is a cart with a large box-like apparatus with two rectangular surfaces slightly recessed from the rest of the face of the box.
FunctionThe anechoic chamber was designed to remove reflections of sound (echos). Stevens conducted experiments in the chamber to measure the perception of loudness. In a 1960 paper, Stevens and two associates posited three different experiments: "(1) the speaker vocalized in an anechoic space with the ears open; (2) the speaker wore a pair of disconnected PDR-8 earphones with Xeoprene cushions MX-41/AR; (3) the earphones generated a masking noise of 110 db; (4) the speaker's voice was fed back to him over the earphones at three levels of amplification (0, 10, and 20 db above an arbitrary reference gain)" (160). Stevens had developed the "Sone scale" of apparent loudness in 1938 (see Stevens, "On the Theory of Scales of Measurement").
Historical AttributesProf. S.S. Stevens founded the Harvard Psychoacoustic Laboratory in 1940.
Curatorial RemarksNegative & prints are stored in flat gray Hollinger box lableled Psychology & Hunt Photographs
ProvenanceFrom Mrs. S. S. Stevens.