ACOUSTICS

FUNDAMENTALS
Raymund M. Lozada, PECE
Instructor
Acoustics
- defined as the generation, transmission, and
reception of energy in the form of vibrational
waves in matter.

Sound
– is a physical wave, or a mechanical vibration,
or simply a series of pressure vibration, in an
elastic medium.
I. Main Sub-Discipline of Acoustics
Aero acoustics

– is the study of aerodynamic sound, generated

when a fluid interacts with a solid surface or with
another flow. It has a particular application to
aeronautics, examples being the study of sound
made by the 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 the
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.
 Loudspeaker Acoustics

– is an engineering discipline behind the design of

the loudspeaker.
 Psychoacoustics

– is the study of how people react to the sound,

hearing, perception, and localization.
 Psychological Acoustics

– is the study of the mechanical, electrical, and

biochemical function of hearing in living
organisms.
 Physical Acoustics

– is the study of 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 thermo
acoustics (the interaction of sound and heat)
 Vibration Acoustics

– 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.
 Wolffian Acoustics

– is the study of salient features of pediatric

ultrasound insofar as it reviews technologic
factors, technique and the normal anatomy used
to evaluate the pediatric tract for abnormality.
 Musical Acoustics

– is the study of the physics of musical instruments.

 Underwater Acoustics

– is the study of propagation of sound in the oceans.

Closely, associated with sonar research and
development.
 Acoustic Engineering

– is the study of how sound is generated and

measured by loudspeakers, microphones, sonar
projectors, hydrophones, ultrasonic transducers,
sensors.
 II. Attributes of Sound Waves
Pitch
That attributes of auditory sensation in terms of
which sound may be ordered on a scale primarily
related to frequency, it is not linearly related to it.
The subjective unit for pitch is the Mel.
1000 mels is the pitch of 1000 Hz tone at a
sensation level of 40 dB.
 Timbre
 The quality of a sound related to its harmonic structure.
 Pure tone is a sound composed of only one frequency in
which the sound pressure varies sinusoidally with time.
 Musical sounds (tone) are composed of the fundamental
frequency and integral multiples of fundamental frequency
(harmonics).
 Loudness
 Is an observer’s auditory impression of the strength of a
 

sound and associated with the rate at which energy is

transmitted to the ear.
 The unit of the loudness level of the standard pure test tone
that is tied to a sound pressure level of 20 micro Pascal at
1000 Hz is the phon.
 The subjective unit for the loudness is the Sone.
 Duration

This is probably the quality that is simplest to relate to a

measurable quantity; the duration of the sound is the
time interval between its beginning and end points.
 Intervals
The ratio between the two frequencies of sounds
 

Octave – an interval of 2:1

Decade – and interval of 10:1
= =
Where:
= the reference frequency
= the frequency of the sound under test
n = the interval in octaves/decades