Place theory cannot explain pitch for sounds composed only of components below 50 Hz

Evidence

The final identified problem is that the pitch perceived for sounds with components only below 50 Hz cannot be explained by the place theory, because the pattern of vibration on the basilar membrane does not appear to change in that region. Sounds of this type are rather unusual, but not impossible to create by electronic synthesis. Since the typical lowest audible frequency for humans is 20 Hz, a sound with an f0 of 20 Hz would have har­ monics at 40 Hz, 60 Hz, etc., and only the first two fall within this region where no change is observed in basilar membrane response. — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 904

Categorization

• QUESTION: If place theory fails below 50 Hz, what temporal/periodicity mechanism accounts for that pitch? Worth chasing the alternative theory in later chapters.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 904
• XREF: connects to: Only two classical theories, place and temporal, explain pitch tracking. — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 834