Acoustics FAQ


What is Acoustics?

Acoustics is the science of sound. Or, in more technical terms "... the generation, transmission and reception of energy in the form of vibrational waves in matter." * A huge number of scientific problems and disciplines fit into this definition, including:
  • noise and vibration control
  • vibration and structural acoustics
  • musical acoustics (acoustics of musical instruments)
  • electroacoustics (audio, loudspeaker and microphone design)
  • architectural acoustics (auditoriums and listening rooms)
  • psychoacoustics (human hearing and perception of sound)
  • underwater acoustics (sonar, echo ranging, and military applications)
  • medical ultrasonics (using sound to kill cancer cells without surgery)

      *: Kinsler L.E., Frey A.R., Coppens A.B., Sanders J.V.: Fundamentals of Acoustics, 3. edition, 1982, John Wiley and Sons. (A widely used textbook in acoustics)

Acoustics is by its very nature an inter-disciplinary field, drawing people from a widely differing backgrounds. A person who works as an 'acoustician' might be a physicist studying acoustic wave propagation, a mechanical engineer trying to control noise and vibration, an electrical engineer designing a new electroacoustic transducer, a civil engineer designing the acoustic properties of a building, an experimental psychologist studying psychoacoustics, a physician doing research in audiology, or a computer programmer designing the sound effects for the newest computer game, just to list a few possibilities.