Introduction to Acoustics

Abstract

This brief introduction may help to persuade the reader that acoustics covers a wide range of interesting topics. It is impossible to cover all these topics in a single handbook, but we have attempted to include a sampling of hot topics that represent current acoustical research, both fundamental and applied. Acoustics is the science of sound. It deals with the production of sound, the propagation of sound from the source to the receiver, and the detection and perception of sound. The word sound is often used to describe two different things: an auditory sensation in the ear, and the disturbance in a medium that can cause this sensation. By making this distinction, the age-old question “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?” can be answered.