Research on underwater acoustics in Göttingen

Abstract

An overview is given of the research work on hydroacoustics at the “Drittes Physikalisches Institut” of the University of Göttingen (Germany) from 1947 till 2002, under the leadership of Erwin Meyer, Manfred Schroeder, and Werner Lauterborn. Details are presented on absorbers of underwater sound, on the Institute's experimental facilities (most of them newly developed), on the statistical sound field theory, on the measurement of sound absorption and radiated power in a reverberation tank, and on natural vibrations of and sound radiation from flat plates and cylindrical shells submerged in water. Brief summaries are given on the investigation of viscometers, on self-imaging in dispersive hydroacoustic waveguides, on Schroeder diffusers for waterborne sound, on resonance scattering as applied to localize metallic objects at the sea floor, and on the construction of adjustable absorbers of underwater sound using electrorheological fluids. Much of the material has previously been published in German only. The bibliography comprises 64 entries.