The following
outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to acoustics:
Acoustics – interdisciplinary science that deals with the study of all
mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including topics such as
vibration,
sound,
ultrasound and
infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician while someone working in the field of acoustics technology may be called an
acoustical engineer. The application of acoustics is present in almost all aspects of modern society with the most obvious being the audio and
noise control industries.
Architectural acoustics – science of how to achieve a good sound within a building.[3] It typically involves the study of speech intelligibility, speech privacy and music quality in the built environment.[4] Also known as building acoustics.
Bioacoustics – scientific study of the hearing and calls of animal calls, as well as how animals are affected by the acoustic and sounds of their habitat.[5]
Electroacoustics – concerned with the recording, manipulation and reproduction of audio using electronics.[6] This might include products such as
mobile phones, large scale
public address systems or
virtual reality systems in research laboratories.
Environmental noise – concerned with noise and vibration caused by railways,[7] road traffic, aircraft, industrial equipment and recreational activities.[8] The main aim of these studies is to reduce levels of environmental noise and vibration. Research work now also has a focus on the positive use of sound in urban and natural environments:
soundscapes and
tranquility.[9]
Underwater acoustics – scientific study of natural and man-made sounds underwater. Applications include
sonar to locate
submarines, underwater communication by whales, climate change monitoring by measuring sea temperatures acoustically, sonic weapons,[15] and marine
bioacoustics.[16]
Acoustics of
vibration – study of how mechanical systems vibrate and interact with their surroundings. Applications might include:
ground vibrations from railways;
vibration isolation to reduce vibration in operating theatres; studying how vibration can damage health (
vibration white finger);
vibration control to protect a building from
earthquakes, or measuring how structure-borne sound moves through buildings.[17]
^Technical Committee on Musical Acoustics (TCMU) of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA).
"ASA TCMU Home Page". Archived from
the original on 13 June 2001. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
^Pohlmann, Ken (2010). Principles of Digital Audio, Sixth Edition. McGraw Hill Professional. p. 336.
ISBN9780071663472.
^Slaney, Malcolm; Patrick A. Naylor (2011). "Trends in Audio and Acoustic Signal Processing". ICASSP.
^Speech Communication Technical Committee.
"Speech Communication". Acoustical Society of America. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
^Ensminger, Dale (2012). Ultrasonics: Fundamentals, Technologies, and Applications. CRC Press. pp. 1–2.