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From Encyclopedia PRO

(Greek: akouein = to hear) Commonly, the study of Sound and its behaviour in various media and environments, including the effects of ABSORPTION, DIFFRACTION, INTERFERENCE, REFLECTION, and REFRACTION. See: Sound Propagation.

In the broader sense, acoustics is the physics of sound, treated in all of its aspects. Up until the early 20th century, 'sound' and 'acoustics' referred to elastic vibrations and waves in the audible human range, but today, there are large fields of acoustics dealing with vibrations and waves not associated directly or indirectly with the hearing process, and often with frequencies and intensities above and below the human audible limits. The term Sonics has recently come into use for those aspects of acoustics not directly associated with the hearing process. See: ULTRASONIC, INFRASONIC.

A scientist that works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician. The application of acoustics in technology is called Acoustical Engineering. There is often much overlap and interaction between the interests of acousticians and acoustical engineers.

Architectural acoustics refers to the study and design of sound transmission in enclosed spaces. The acoustics of a room are its qualities related to sound transmission and reception. Applied acoustics is generally termed acoustical engineering, and is practised by an ACOUSTICIAN or acoustical engineer.

Divisions of acoustics

The following are the main sub-disciplines of acoustics. (Template:Cite web)

• Acoustical measurements and instrumentation.
• Acoustic signal processing.
• Aeroacoustics is the study of aerodynamic sound, generated when a fluid flow interacts with a solid surface or with another flow. It has particular application to aeronautics, examples being the study of sound made by flying jets and the physics of shock waves (sonic booms).
• Architectural acoustics is the study of how sound and buildings interact including the behavior of sound in concert halls and auditoriums but also in office buildings, factories and homes.
• Bioacoustics is the study of the use of sound by animals such as whales, dolphins and bats.
• Biomedical acoustics is the study of the use of sound in medicine, for example the use of ultrasound for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.
• Environmental noise is the study of the sound propagation in the human environment, noise health effects and noise mitigation analysis.
• Psychological acoustics is the study of how people react to sound, hearing, perception, and localization.
• Physiological acoustics is the study of the mechanical, electrical and biochemical function of hearing in living organisms.
• Physical acoustics is the study of the detailed interaction of sound with materials and fluids and includes, for example, sonoluminescence (the emission of light by bubbles in a liquid excited by sound) and thermoacoustics (the interaction of sound and heat).
• Speech communication is the study of how speech is produced, the analysis of speech signals and the properties of speech transmission, storage, recognition and enhancement.
• Structural acoustics and vibration is the study of how sound and mechanical structures interact; for example, the transmission of sound through walls and the radiation of sound from vehicle panels.
• Transduction is the study of how sound is generated and measured by loudspeakers, microphones, sonar projectors, hydrophones, ultrasonic transducers and sensors.
• Ultrasonics is the study of high frequency sound, beyond the range of human hearing.
• Musical acoustics is the study of the physics of musical instruments.
• Underwater acoustics is the study of the propagation of sound in the oceans. Closely associated with sonar research and development.