Acoustics

Definition

Acoustics is the study of sound [1,2]. Sound is produced when an object vibrates causing a pressure wave to propagate through a medium (e.g., air) to a receiver.

Characteristics

As acoustics is the study of sound [1,2], it is the study of how objects produce sound through vibration. An object must have mass and inertia in order to vibrate. A spring attached to a weight may serve as a model for a vibrating object, with the weight representing the properties of mass and the spring the properties of inertia. When the weight is pulled away from or pushed past its resting point, the spring will cause the weight to vibrate. A force moves the object and the spring applies a restoring force. These forces can be expressed as the moving force, F = ma, and the restoring force, F = −sx, where m is mass, s is stiffness, and a and x are acceleration terms. In a frictionless world with no resistance, the two forces offset each other when the weight vibrates resulting in ma + sx= 0. This...