File:Two views of cochlear mechanics (B).svg

English: The cochlea, shown uncoiled, is filled with liquid. In the accepted travelling wave picture (see this image), the partition vibrates up and down like a flicked rope, and a wave of displacement sweeps from base (high frequencies) to apex (low frequencies). Where the wave broadly peaks depends on frequency. An alternative resonance view (shown here) is that independent elements on the partition can vibrate side to side in sympathy with incoming sound. It remains open whether the resonant elements are set off by a travelling wave (giving a hybrid picture) or directly by sound pressure in the liquid (resonance alone).